ST. DAVIDS. Pa.--In the end, it was a win. Eastern University Women's Basketball shot a woeful 23% from the floor in the second half and squandered a ten point halftime lead, but the Eagles were able to rally from a late six point deficit to earn a 58-57 home win over Arcadia University. Shante Jones led the Eagles with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles used transition baskets to outscore the visiting Knights 15-5 over the final eight minutes of the first half to pull away to a 35-25 lead at intermission. Jones scored 14 points before the break, and Aly Goodman added eight points off the bench. the Eagles connected on just 2-10 from behind the arc, but they owned a 22-15 edge on the glass and shot 12-19 from inside the arc. Christine Taylor led the Knights with eight points through the first half.

Katie Lincoln drained a three pointer in the first minute of the second half to put the Eagles up 13, and the two teams traded lay-ups to set the score at 42-30 with just under 17 minutes to play.

Arcadia then used solid outside shooting and good perimeter defense to carve out a 23-5 run over the next nine minutes. The Eagles found good shots, but were not able to convert. More troubling, perhaps, was an ankle injury to Jones with twelve minutes to play. The Eagles' leading scorer did not return.

"That was tough for us," Head Coach Nate Davis said, "Shante is our leading scorer and someone we look to down the stretch, so today was a good test for us. We needed other players to step up, and they did. We did a lot of things wrong that we hope to correct, but I am really proud of the way the players battled and did not quit. That counts for a lot."

The Arcadia lead remained at six with six minutes to play. Lori Wileczek dropped a three pointer from the wing to cut the deficit to 57-54 with five minutes left. The Eagles converted just 4-28 three point attempts for the game. Jess Ogden grabbed a loose ball in transition and split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to two with 3:35 to play.

Bekah Roland grabbed a rebound of an Ogden miss and tied the game with 2:31 left. Roland finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. After empty possessions from both teams, Arcadia held for the last shot. With a three second differential between the clocks, the visitors had to shoot before the final buzzer. A three point attempt caromed off and Ogden secured the rebound and immediately looked up court. The junior center was fouled in the act of throwing an outlet pass. 

Ogden converted the front end of the one-and-one to give the Eagles the margin of victory. The 4-1 start is the best start in the last ten years for an Eastern women's basketball team.

Taylor finished with 17 points and Jackie Law finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the visitors.

The Eagles will start into Freedom Conference play on Wednesday night with a home game against King's College. That game will kick off Eastern's Season of Impact and is a Toys for Tots event. Anyone bringing an unwrapped new toy to the doubleheader will be admitted free.