ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Women's Basketball opened 2022 with a victory on Wednesday night, defeating MAC Commonwealth foe Alvernia 70-59 at the NEST. After a closely-contested first half, the Eagles opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take control of the contest, earning their first MAC Commonwealth win in the process.
All five Eastern starters finished in double figures, led by Mikayla Wright's 18 points. The sophomore forward also added 11 rebounds, recording her second double-double of the season. Additionally, with her 18 points, Wright has now scored double-digit points in seven of the Eagles' last eight games. Jaelyn Harris scored 14 points for the second-straight contest, knocking down four threes, while Camila Sosa tied a career-best with 14 points on five-of-seven shooting.
Brynn Schmidt finished in double figures for the second-straight contest, scoring 11 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists, while Taryn Woodson recorded her sixth straight double-digit rebound game and fourth-straight double-double. The first year forward from Harrisburg finished with 11 points and 13 boards.
Alvernia opened the scoring with a triple on its first possession, but Schmidt answered with five straight points to give the Eagles an early 5-3 advantage. Triples from Harris and Sosa pushed the Eagles' advantage to 11-7, and Sosa's second three of the quarter put Eastern up 16-13 with 2:56 to play in the frame. The two teams continued to battle back and forth, with Alvernia taking a 19-18 advantage into the break.
The game remained close in the second quarter, with neither squad leading by more than five points. The Golden Wolves took their biggest lead of the contest at 23-20 with 6:04 to play, but six straight points from Wright gave the Eagles the advantage back for good. Sosa capped off Eastern's second quarter scoring with a pair of triples, giving the Eagles a 32-27 edge at halftime.
The Eagles came out firing in the second half, scoring on three straight possessions and building a 14-point lead at the 7:53 mark. Harris started the run with a triple, before a steal and score by Sosa and a layup by Woodson put the Eagles up by double digits. Harris capped off the run with another basket, and Eastern's lead was never threatened the rest of the way. In all, the Eagles outscored the Golden Wolves 19-12 in the frame, and their lead never fell below nine points.
Eastern held its double-digit advantage throughout the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 15 points before eventually securing the 11-point triumph.
"I'm happy we got the win tonight," Eastern Head Coach Eric Houston said. "We aren't satisfied yet, but we are excited to begin the New Year with a victory. We are moving on to the next one."
As a team, the Eagles shot 29-of-72 (40.3 percent) from the field and nine-of-27 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Additionally, Eastern finished with 19 assists on its 29 made field goals, while scoring 19 points off of 18 Alvernia turnovers.
Eastern will be back home on Saturday afternoon for another MAC Commonwealth test against Hood. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
