WAYNE, N.J.– With final exams this week, the players on the Eastern Women's Basketball team had heard a lot from their coaches about finishing strong. The Eagles were able to do that in a hard-fought 70-63 win at Kean University. Eastern outscored the host Cougars 24-18 in the final period to pull away to their sixth win of the year.

Emily Lavin scored Eastern's first six points of the game and finished with a team-high 24 points. She made 12-of-16 shots from the floor and grabbed 12 rebounds. She also added four blocked shots to become just the second player in program history to reach 300 career blocked shots. 

The Cougars led 17-12 after the first quarter, but the Eagles got early 3-pointers from Ashley Kurdziolek and Amanda Riiff to open up the Kean defense in the second period. The Eagles outscored Kean 18-9 in the second and held a 30-26 lead at the half. 

Regie Robinson grabbed 13 of her game-high 20 rebounds in the first half. Robinson finished the game as one of three Eastern players with a double-double. She scored 12 points after halftime to finish with 18 points and 20 rebounds. 

"She [Robinson] was a monster on the boards today," Head Coach Eric Houston said after the game. "She has been crashing the glass all season, but today, she was just at another level."  Houston also noted that Taylor Price was two assists from a triple-double.Price finished with ten points, ten rebounds, and eight assists.

Eastern held a 46-45 lead after three quarters. Lavin finished a pass from Robinson to start the final period. Thirty seconds later, Price found Robinson for another lay-up and a five-point lead.

Price, who finished 6-of-6 from the foul line, made a pair of free throws and Riiff knocked down a floater for a 54-45 lead with eight minutes to play. The Eagles stretched the lead to 11 for a moment, but more importantly, never allowed Kean to close to within five points the rest of the way.

Four different players scored in the decisive burst at the start of the fourth quarter. The Eagles made 10-of-12 foul shots to close out the game.

"We had to play smart basketball," Houston concluded. "We played together and made some very good basketball plays. We were under control in the fourth and were able to dictate the tempo. I think we grew a lot as a team today."

Riiff made three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points. The Eagles used a 56-44 edge on the glass to overcome several turnovers early in the game. Marajiah Bacon led Kean (6-3) with a game-high 27 points.

Eastern will play Hartwick College on Monday in Miami.