WBB Stumbles at Eastern Nazarene

QUINCY, Mass. -- The Mitchell College women's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end at Eastern Nazarene College on Wednesday afternoon, falling by an 85-69 final in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions climbed to 16-7 on the year and 11-5 in the NECC. The Mariners dropped to 15-9 overall and slipped into a tie for second place in the conference standings at 14-3.

Courtney Barba poured in a season-best 21 points and collected seven rebounds to lead the Lions. Tia Torio posted 13 points, nine boards and seven assists while Alyssa Cosio contributed 12 points off the bench. Kyra Fleharty rounded out ENC's top scorers with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Amina Wiley paced Mitchell with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jessica Lohneiss netted 18 points off the bench while Kelsey Hernandez added 10 points.

Eastern Nazarene strung together a 7-0 run to claim a 13-8 advantage with 4:51 remaining in the opening quarter. Mitchell responded with 10 straight points to jump ahead 18-13 with 2:27 to go in the first. Seniesha Sekaquaptewa banked in a reverse layup to cut the Lions' deficit to 20-19 just before the conclusion of the first period.

The Mariners widened the gap to 23-19 as Marissa Sweeney drained a three-pointer to open the second quarter. However, the hosts ended the half with 11 consecutive points to hold an eight-point lead at the halftime intermission, 45-37, after outscoring the guests 26-17 in the quarter. Barba and Cosio each tallied nine points in the half to lead the Lions while Fleharty added seven points.

The home team seized its first double-digit lead of the game as Barba nailed back-to-back treys on the opening two possessions of the second half. Eastern Nazarene extended its advantage to 16 points with under a minute remaining in the third quarter, 68-52, on a basket by Emma Farrow.

Trailing 69-57 heading into the fourth, Mitchell pulled to within 10 after Wiley tossed in a layup early in the period to make it 69-59. Eastern Nazarene later stretched the gap to 19 with 3:42 left to play as Cosio capped off a 9-0 run with a three-ball to bump the score to 80-61.

Mitchell will wrap up the regular season with a home date against Becker College on Saturday, February 16 at noon. A win over the Hawks would secure the Mariners of at least a share of the regular season title.