WILKES-BARRE, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Basketball battled through foul difficulty and a sluggish second half to outlast the King's College Monarchs 53-46. Despite shooting only 25 percent from the floor in the second half, the Eagles never trailed and picked up a critical road win in MAC Freedom play.

The Eagles (10-3, 1-1 MAC Freedom) jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Regie Robinson made her first 3-point basket of the year. The first-quarter lead grew to 19-4 on a pair of Emily Lavin baskets before King's scored late in the period to cut the Eastern lead to 19-6.

The Eagles scored the first six points of the second period to grow their lead to 25-6 with six and a half minutes to play in the the half.

The two teams traded baskets, and then the game started to grind. King's made a pair of 3-pointers and cut the Eastern lead to 31-21 at halftime.

Taylor Price led all scorers with 10 points at the half. The junior guard also six rebounds and four assists.

The third quarter started out well enough for the Eagles. They connected for six points on their first two shots. Lavin found Price on the left wing for an open 3-pointer, and then after a King's basket, Price returned the favor with a kick to Lavin. The 3-pointer is the first of Lavin's career. She and Robinson are now both 1-for-2 from behind the arc this year.

The Eagles scored only three more baskets in the period. The defense, however, held up and the Eastern lead stayed at nine when Price drove the length of the court for the final basket of the period.

"We found a way to win," Head Coach Eric Houston said after the game. "With Regie [Robinson] and Lav [Lavin] in foul trouble, we had to play more zone and slow things down on offense, but Brianna [Young-Harris] did a nice job coming in and our guards took care of the ball late."

The Eagles scored only two field goals in the fourth, but made six of seven foul shots down the stretch to keep the lead at or above five points down the stretch. Price grabbed an offensive rebound on the one missed foul shot. Amanda Riiff made all four of her free throws in the final two minutes. She has made 19-of-20 foul shots this season.

Robinson and Lavin each picked up their fourth fouls early in the fourth period, and Robinson picked up her fifth with nearly seven minutes to play.

Price finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Lavin scored 14 and added seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Kayla Feairheller led King's with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Eastern will host the Misericordia University Cougars on Wednesday night.