They trailed 27-22 at the half, and struggled in several facets of the game, but a strong second half surge tightened the game and tied up at 43 with less than a minute to play. Rosemont scored the final basket of the game to escape with a 45-43 win. Mandy Kuiken led all scorers with 18 points.

Kuiken started scoring for the Eagles with a long three-pointer early, and the Eagles held a lead early in the first half. The senior guard, however, picked up a pair of early fouls and Eastern Coach Katie Levis had to sit Kuiken down. With Kuiken's minutes limited, the Eagles turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, and Rosemont built a five point halftime lead.

To start the second period, the Eagles jumped out to an 8-2 run to seize a 30-29 lead in the first four minutes. Eastern emerged from the locker room committed to taking care of the basketball and to finding higher quality shots. They again found themselves down five late after a Rosemont run, but another long three from Kuiken and an inside basket from Shanell Timothy, who finished with a game-high 16 rebounds for the Eagles brought them right back into the game.

With the game knotted at 43, the Ramblers forced a turnover in transition and found senior guard Andrea Boyle in transition. Boyle dropped in the lay-up for her 14th point of the game with just over 20 seconds to play. Eastern got another look at the basket, but a blocked shot by Rosemont forward Adrianne Demchenko would end the Eagles hopes in this one.

Eastern returns to action Thursday with a non-conference game at Lancaster Bible College.

Box Score