ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – A late rally fell short, and Eastern University Women's Basketball dropped a 72-63 decision to the visiting Misericordia University Cougars. The Eagles trimmed a 15-point second-half deficit to three on a Taylor Price Layup with 1:11 on the clock, but the Cougars (8-5 (2-1 MAC Freedom) made their free throws down the stretch to pick up the MAC Freedom win.

The visiting Cougars grabbed control of the game with a 17-5 run to close out the first quarter up 20-10. The Eagles had five first-quarter turnovers and were just 4-for 16 from the floor in the first quarter.

The Cougars held their lead throughout the second and extended it to 16 points with a 12-0 run late before Taylor Price went the length of the floor for a layup to close the gap to 37-23. The Eagles (10-4, 1-2 MAC Freedom) made only 5-of-17 shots in the second period.

The Eastern offense came alive in the third period, but the Cougars continued to hit shots and held 54-44 lead with ten minutes to play.

The Eagles' comeback hopes took a huge hit, when Regie Robinson was called for her fifth foul with over six minutes to play. Robinson had just cut the lead to 59-50 on a driving layup. She finished with 13 points.

Undeterred, the Eagles kept pushing the pace of the game and closed the gap to 62-57 on a 3-pointer from Amanda Riiff and a pair of free throws from Kayla Holmes. Once again, however, the Cougars answered with four straight points around an illegal screen call.

The Holmes started the final Eastern rally with a pair of free throws before Price scored a pair of transition hoops. The Cougars scored the final basket of the game to go up 68-63 with a minute to play, and then the Eagles and to foul.

Price finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Emily Lavin had ten points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks, but the two attempted only a pair of free throws between them. Riiff made 3-of-7 from behind the arc and finished with 11 points.

The Cougars, who won in St. Davids for the first time since 2010, got 19 points from Japriya Carroll and 14 points from Justine Seely.

The Eagles will look to rebound on Saturday at Wilkes.