SCRANTON, Pa. - Eastern Women's Basketball cruised to a 91-59 victory over Farmingdale State in the first round of the Hilton Poinsettia Classic on Tuesday afternoon. The Eastern non-starters chipped in 40 points as the Eagles pulled away late in the game.

"We played with a lot of confidence and within ourselves," said Head Coach Eric Houston. "It was nice to play against someone else and showcase our ability. The bench was huge for us with 40 points."

Eastern (7-1) held a slim 21-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Taylor Price scored as time expired in the first and scored again to spark a 15-4 run to open the second quarter. Price, Emily Lavin, and Regie Robinson combined to score all fifteen of the points in the run. Those three, who average nearly 53 points per game, did nearly all their damage in the first half. Lavin had 13 of her 15 points in the opening half, and Price and Robinson each had eight. The Eagles held a 42-30 lead at halftime. Farmingdale's Tyra Harrison scored 22 of her game-high 35 points in the first half.

The Rams (4-5) trimmed the Eastern lead to eight midway through the third period before the Eagles closed out the period on a 16-5 run. Taylor Azer scored all ten of her points in the third quarter. The Eagles built on that lead with a 12-0 start to the fourth period.  Tori Grossi, Amber Anderson, and Ashley Kurdziolek all scored as the Eagles scored in the opening run.

The other biggest discrepancy in the game was the play of the Eastern bench.  Taylor Azer and Grossi combined for 21 points. Kurdziolek scored eight points, and Gianna Dafflisio scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.

Lavin led Eastern with 15 points, ten rebounds, and six blocks for her fifth double-double of the season. Anderson finished with a career-high 14 points in her first career start. Price finished with 11 points and six assists. Harrison finished with 35 points on 41 shots from the floor.

Eastern will play host Scranton for the tournament title tomorrow at 5 pm.