Heidelberg team that had battled eventual champion Middlebury to a 10 point loss, Coach Katie Levis's side needed to improve in several aspects of the game in order to compete. The good news is that the Eagles did. The improved defensive intensity and rebounding was enough to keep the Eagles in the game, but it was not quite enough to earn the upset. The Eagles were within three points with three minutes left, but eventually fell 57-45.

After Heidelberg opened the scoring with a free throw, the Eagles jumped to a lead that they would hold until the final second of the first half. The Eagles built their biggest lead of the game at 18-12 with five minutes left in the half when Mandy Kuiken dropped her first of three three-pointers on the day. Heidelberg, who connected on just 4-27 field goal attempts in the first half, closed the half on a 9-2 run, but did not score a field goal in that run until a last second lay-up put them up 21-20.

Eastern first year forward Shanelle Timothy led both teams with six points and six rebounds at the half. The Eagles won the battle of the boards 24-15 in the first 20 minutes.

When Heidelberg jumped out to a 6-0 run to start the second half, it looked as though they were going to run away and hide. Joelle DeCarlo, who finished the day with 14 points on her way to earning a spot on the All-Tournament team, stopped the run with a three pointer from the top of the key. 

After Heidelberg built their advantage back up to eight points at 31-23, Kuiken dropped in her second three of the day, and Emily Reeser answered a Heidelberg free throw with yet another three to cut the deficit to 32-29.

Heidelberg stretched their lead to 45-33 with six and a half minutes to play, but the Eagles battled back again. DeCarlo scored six points in an 11-2 run to put the Eagles right back in the thick of things with three minutes to play.  An 8-1 run over the final three minutes gave Heidelberg the final margin of victory.

Coach Levis said of her team's effort, "We made great strides from game one to game two. Joelle and Mandy showed great discipline in our offense today. Shanelle gave us great energy on the boards. We still have a ways to go, but I am very pleased with the progress we made over the weekend."

Eastern returns to action Tuesday night at Philadelphia Biblical University.

Box Score