QUINCY, Mass.—A consistent, all-around effort from a veteran-laden Eastern Nazarene squad helped the Lions earn a season split with visiting Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night at the Lahue PE Center. The Fighting Scots saved their best quarter for last, but could not overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half in the 72-59 loss to their rivals.
Gordon had to play catchup from the start after the Lions built up a 7-0 lead in just two and a half minutes. The Fighting Scots struggled to find their shot from the floor at the beginning, allowing Eastern Nazarene to grow its lead to 15-6 when Michelle Detwiler (Elkhart, Ind.) hit a jumper with just over four minutes to go in the first quarter. That score held for a few minutes until Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) converted a layup to spark Gordon to a nice end to the frame. Over the final three minutes and change, Gordon outscored the Lions 9-4 and trailed by as few as two points before Jaysa Cooper (Frisco, Texas) made a lay in before the quarter break.
The Lions capitalized on Cooper's momentum turner by starting the second quarter on a 12-2 run to quickly put the Fighting Scots in a 14-point hole at 31-17. The Fighting Scots were able to make it an 11-point game at halftime, but the early run by the Lions ended up being the key to the game.
Eastern Nazarene staved off a quick blitz from the Scots to start the third when Gordon was able to cut the lead to seven on a Jess Ryan (Milford, N.H.) layup and pushed a run back the other way with an 8-2 stretch of its own. Gordon was unable to get the lead within single digits for the rest of the game as the Lions exploded for a game-high 23 points in the third.
The Fighting Scots played their best basketball over the final 10 minutes, cutting down on turnovers and finding a few open looks on the offensive end. After Eastern Nazarene claimed a 21-point lead, Gordon was able to whittle it down to 11 with two minutes to go and had a few opportunities to slash it even further.
In the end, Gordon's long balls didn't find the bottom of the hoop to keep the rally from a full go. The Fighting Scots made just two of 19 attempts from deep, distorting an otherwise solid shooting night from two-point range.
A three-headed attack of Amanda Cuervo (Whittier, Calif.), Shelby Holmes (Seeley Lake, Mont.) and Kayla Torio (Manteca, Calif.) combined for exactly half of the Lions' points on the evening. The Lions held a seven-rebound margin over the Scots as five different players collected six boards.
Free-throw shooting was also a major player in Eastern Nazarene's win, as they made 15-of-20 compared to a 9-for-19 performance by Gordon.
Meghan Foley (Malden, Mass.) was the primetime player for the Fighting Scots with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jenna Olson (Rutland, Vt.) had a game-high 10 rebounds, with four coming on the offensive side of the ball. Gordon committed five fewer turnovers than the hosts despite the loss.
The Fighting Scots (6-12, 4-7 CCC) hope to get back on track on Saturday when they head to Dudley to take on Nichols. Gordon survived a close game against the Bison in the first matchup at the Bennett Center in early January.
