PURCHASE, N.Y.- A tremendous start proved to be not enough as Eastern University Women's Basketball (8-11, 4-4 Freedom) fell 73-56 at Manhattanville College in Freedom Conference action. The Eagles raced out to a 16-4 lead in the first six and a half minutes but were unable to hold off the host Valiants the rest of the way. Meghan Nowak led the Eagles with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
The Eagles made their first four shots of the contest to lead 10-2 just over two minutes in. Nowak scored Eastern's first seven points on a pair of layups and a 3-pointer, and Kaleigh Boreman also connected from distance. The hot start from long-range would not continue though, as the Eagles made only 1-of-10 more in the first half and 4-of-21 for the game. After another Manhattanville hoop, the Eagles scored three more baskets to lead 16-4.
The Eagles extended the lead to 25-11 with eight minutes to play on a Gina DiDomenico 3-pointer. The Eastern offense then went cold. The Eagles made only 2-of-13 shots the rest of the half, and the Valiants clawed back into the game. Manhattanville closed the gap to 27-26 on a three-point play from Allison Caiazzo before Nowak closed the scoring on the half with a good finish of a Kaitlin Dougherty feed.
Nowak hit six of her first eight shots and led the Eagles with 13 points at the break. Caizzo, who finished with 22 points had 11 to pace the hosts.
The Eagles scored the first four points of the second half on points in the paint from Nowak and Dougherty, but then went over seven minutes without a field goal. Even with the drought from the field, the Eagles only trailed 42-39 when Kelsie Patton connected from distance off a kickout pass from Nowak.
Manhattanville's Taylor Wilson then connected on two straight shots from distance to push the host's lead to nine. The first of those came from six or seven feet beyond the arc. The Eagles briefly trimmed the deficit to five before the Valiants (9-9, 2-6 Freedom) stretched their advantage back to double-figures. In the second half, the Valiants shot 54 percent from the floor and scored 12 second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds.
Wilson made all eight of her second-half free throws and scored 22 to finish tied for game-high honors with Caiazzo. The Eagles made only 9-of-33 shots after half. Dougherty joined Nowak in double-figures with 13.
The Eagles now sit alone in fourth place in the Conference standings with six games to play. They will attempt to get back on the winning track on Wednesday at King's. The Monarachs, who lost at DeSales this afternoon, were the only league team to pick up a win at Eastern in the first half of the season.
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