ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Basketball outscored the visiting FDU-Florham Devils 24-16 in the fourth quarter, but the late rally fell just short as the Eagles fell, 70-67, to the MAC Freedom-leading Devils. Eastern trailed by 18 in the second half but cut the deficit to two points on two occasions late in the game. Taylor Price led four Eagles in double-figures with 17 points.

The two teams played an evenly-matched first period. The Eagles (11-5, 2-3 MAC Freedom) grabbed a 10-5 lead on 3-pointer from Amanda Riiff midway through the opening period, but FDU responded with six-straight points in a two-minute stretch to grab a 12-11 lead. The two sides traded baskets and FDU held a 15-14 lead after one period.

The Devils (14-2, 5-0 MAC Freedom) took advantage of some Eastern foul trouble and started the second period on a 10-2 run. Alyssa McDonough hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the two teams to the locker room with FDU holding an 11-point lead. McDonough led all scorers with 13 points at the break. Price and Riiff both had eight points to pace the Eagles.

FDU put together a 9-2 burst and forced Eastern to burn a timeout early in the third quarter.

Out of that timeout, the Eagles began to attack the rim and play in transition. Regie Robinson scored on a pass from Emily Lavin and then made a pair of free throws. Kayla Holmes cut the deficit to 12 points on a tough drive through traffic. Eastern continued to score, but McDonough held her team int he game. The senior scored the final eight FDU points of the third quarter and the first seven FDU points of the fourth. The Eagles trailed 63-51 with five minutes to play.

Riiff grabbed a loose ball rebound after missing a 3-pointer and knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game. Price followed that up with a 3-pointer on a kick-out pass from Lavin. FDU took a timeout with a six point lead and four minutes to play. The Devils scored inside, but the Eagles answered with a pair of layups from Lavin and a transition basket from Holmes to close the gap to 65-63. 

McDonough scored her 29th and 30th points of the game on a layup, but Price had the answer with a put-back basket to again close the gap to two points with 41 seconds on the clock. The Eagles elected to defend on the possession, and it almost worked when Lavin blocked an inside attempt. The rebound, however, caromed to an FDU player and a quick pass resulted in a layup on the other side of the basket and a four point FDU lead.

Price made a ten-footer to close the gap to 69-67 with three seconds to play. Cayla Staggers split a pair of free throws for the final margin.

"That is the team we can be," Head Coach Eric Houston said after the game. "We played hard and we played well to close out the game. We have to bring that kind of energy to the beginning of games. I was proud of the fight we showed late."

Lavin finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. Robinson had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kendrea Williams scored 17  adn Rachel Groom added 14 points and 17 rebounds for FDU.

The Eagles will travel to Manhattanville on Saturday for a critical MAC Freedom test.