ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern Women's Basketball dropped a heartbreaking 74-70 game to visiting DeSales University on Saturday afternoon which was both the season finale and Senior Day. The Eagles honored lone senior Tori Grossi and the contributions she made to not only the Women's Basketball Program but Eastern Athletics as a whole.

"She is an extraordinary person," said Head Coach Eric Houston. "Words cannot describe the type of person she is. She was my first recruit when I was an assistant coach and to watch her grow into the person she has become, is truly special."

Eastern (12-13, 6-8 MAC Freedom) came out strong taking a 24-14 lead after the first quarter. After initially trailing 9-4 in the early stage of the game the Eagles used a 20-5 run to close out the opening quarter of play. Amanda Riiff knocked down two 3-pointers during the scoring spree while Regie Robinson tallied eight points of her own.

Eastern stretched its lead to 12 on three separate occasions in the second quarter, but DeSales (19-6, 12-2 MAC Freedom) never wavered and would answer right back. Grossi knocked down a pair of free throws in the opening minute of the second quarter to give the Eagles a 26-14 advantage, but Megan Baird hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within nine just seconds later. With just under seven minutes to play, Robinson hit a layup but once again DeSales answered right back hitting a 3-pointer again. After DeSales had cut the deficit to just four, Amanda Riff rattled home a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 run extending Eastern's lead to 40-28. The Bulldogs hit a layup just before time expired to make it a 40-30 game heading into the locker room.

The third quarter was a back and forth battle as DeSales opened the quarter with a 9-3 run cutting the deficit to just 43-39. The Eagles stretched their lead to ten, 54-44, with two minutes left to play in the quarter but the Bulldogs came back to trail by four with 12 seconds reaminging in the third. Robinson knocked down two free throws to make it a six-point, 57-51, game heading into the final quarter.   

DeSales had not led since the 6:33 mark of the first quarter but with just over five minutes to play in the game Katie Miller changed all of that when she knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 67-64 lead. Both Taylor Price and Emily McPeak managed to cut the deficit to one on two separate occasions, but DeSales answered right back both times and closed out the game on a 5-2 run to seal the victory.

 "I was just proud of them," continued Houston. "We went out there and battled and put ourselves in a position to win the game. DeSales is a good team and you have to give them a lot of credit they made some plays at the end to earn the win."

The Bulldogs held the Eagles to an 8-of-30 shooting mark from the field in the second half while they went 15-of-33 in the second half and 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

Robinson posted her ninth double-double of the season scoring a team-high 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Price also posted a double-double netting 19 points and totaling ten rebounds. Riiff rounded out the double-digit scoring netting 12 points respectively.

Morgan McCollian scored a game-high 26 points while Jen Napolitano netted 15 points of her own. Kaitlin Kelly rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12.  

"I am going to remember the opportunity that 2015-16 brought me," concluded Houston. "To be able to go out there and help coach these ladies and put them in situations to be successful was great. I had a lot of fun doing it and getting to teach them the game I love every day."