WILKES BARRE, Pa.-- Needing a win to keep their post-season hopes alive, the Eastern University women's basketball team had to dig out of an 18-6 hole to earn a 70-58 win at Wilkes University. Shante Jones scored 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 steals to lead the Eagles in the win.
The host Colonels came out with guns blazing from long range. Sam Lynam, Whitney Connelly, and Erin Schneider each hit three-pointers to help Wilkes to an 18-6 lead four minutes in. The Eagles (14-8, 6-5 Freedom) did not help themselves as they committed three early turnovers.
Jones scored her first point on a free throw with fourteen minutes to play. Eastern's standout junior scored 17 points, including a burst where she scored 12 in a row, over the next six minutes to put the Eagles in front 26-22. Katie Lincoln was the other Eagle to score in the 20-4 run. Lincoln, who finished with 10 points, converted a three-point play in traffic.
The lead remained tenuous until Jones scored the final four points of the half to push the edge to 36-30. The Eagles held a 24-6 advantage on points in the paint before the intermission.
Wilkes closed the gap to two points on three occasions early in the second half, but each time the Eagles answered. In the first instance, Jess Ogden finished a nifty reverse. Ogden, who finished 4-4 from the line with 10 points, answered a Sam Lynam lay-up with a pair of free throws. After Whitney Connolly made two free throws for the hosts, Lincoln converted another three point play to spark a 7-0 run.
After the Colonels closed the gap to 49-42 on two more free throws from Connolly, the Eagles begin to run clock and look for Bekah Roland inside. Roland scored 11 points down the stretch and was a perfect 5-5 from the foul line.
The Eagles only shot 40% in the second half, but they made 12-15 free throws and earned extra possessions with nine steals and four offensive rebounds after the intermission.
Connolly led thre Wilkes players in double-figures with 17 points. She and Lynam (15 points) combined to make 15-16 from the foul line, but made just 7-34 from the field. Megan Kazmerski made 7-15 shots and finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Jones eclipsed the 30 point barrier for the fifth time this year. Roland, who is closing in on the 1000 point mark for her career, finished with 15 points and Lincoln and Ogden finished with ten each.
The Eagles still sit just outside the play-off bubble but will have a chance to make inroads into the top four in the Freedom when they battle at Manhattanville on Saturday.
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