Box Score
QUINCY, Mass.—A furious rally in the second half fell just short and Eastern Nazarene made their free throws down the stretch, as Gordon Women's Basketball fell to the Lions 65-53 on the road. Three Scots finished with 15 points in the Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup, but Gordon couldn't slow down point guard Ruby Leon in the first half.
Gordon jumped out to the early 4-0 lead, but ENC tied the game at seven with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Lions went on an offensive tear over the next three minutes of play—going on a 11-0 run to put a wedge between the two teams.
Every time the Scots attempted to put a run together in the first half, the Lions were able to answer on their offensive end. Leon scored 16 first-half points to lead ENC to a 35-20 advantage at the break. Fredi Nielsen (Bridgeport, Conn.) had an outstanding first half for the Scots, scoring 13 points and corralling five rebounds, but no one else was able to get shots to fall.
The Lions extended their lead to 18 early in the second half, when the Scots began to find their groove on offense. Senior Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) was a huge factor in Gordon's second-half revival, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the second stanza.
Gordon changed their offensive philosophy in the second half by trying to penetrate the lane off the dribble and earn more attempts at the free throw line. The Scots went to the line 20 times in the second half—draining 14 of those attempts—as the Scots crept within single digits with seven minutes to play in regulation.
The Scots rally did not stop there, as a free throw by Kranyak with exactly two minutes on the clock cut the Lions' lead to three points, 56-53. Eastern Nazarene settled the pace in the final two minutes and re-established their multi-possession lead with made shots at the charity stripe.
Gordon was unable to hit on any deep shots in the final two minutes and they fell to the Lions 65-53. The loss drops them to 5-10 on the season and 1-7 in the CCC, while the Lions (5-10) received their first win in conference competition this year.
Leon finished with 22 points to lead all scorers on 9-of-19 shooting. The point guard was one rebound short of a double-double and added four assists in the second half to post an impressive stat-line. Jasmine Johnson, Nicole Greer and Christine Saint-Pierre, all scored 10 points to round out the majority of the Lions' scoring.
Nielsen, Kranyak and Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) all notched 15 points for Gordon. However, the Scots finished 16-of-54 from the floor despite their second-half resurgence. Kratche added her fifth double-double of the year by pitching in 10 rebounds to lead the team.
Gordon hosts Roger Williams on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Bennett Center in hopes of getting their second conference win of the year.
