ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Women's Basketball battled valiantly with York in its MAC Commonwealth opener on Saturday afternoon, but were unable to get over the hump in an eventual 67-59 defeat. The Eagles trailed from wire-to-wire, shooting just 35 percent from the floor in the loss.

Jeriyah Johnson led the Eagles (1-5, 0-1 MACC) with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Taryn Woodson recorded her second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. Kayla Worsley-Wooten finished with 12 points, which included three triples, while Ebony Johnson added six.

Both teams struggled early shooting the basketball, but York (3-4, 1-1 MACC) scored the first two baskets of the game in the opening three-and-a-half minutes to take the lead for good. A Johnson three-pointer cut the York advantage to 6-5 midway through the first quarter. However, an 11-2 run for the Spartans gave them a 17-7 lead with less than a minute to play. Worsley-Wooten cut into the Eastern deficit with three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt, but the Eagles trailed 17-10 heading into the second quarter.

Back-to-back layups from Woodson put the Eagle behind by just three points early in the second period, but the Spartans answered with back-to-back baskets to increase their advantage back to seven. After Woodson made it 21-16 with another layup with 8:11 remaining in the first half, the Spartans used an 11-0 scoring surge over the following six minutes to take a game-high 16 point lead. Eastern was able to cut into York's lead late in the quarter with baskets from Worsley-Wooten, Woodson, and Tyerra Jarvis, but the Eagles trailed 32-23 at the halftime break.

Worsley-Wooten opened the second half with her third three of the contest to make it a six-point contest. However, the Eagles were held off the scoreboard for nearly four minutes as the Spartans built their lead back up to 13 at the 5:23 mark. Eastern continued to battle, as Johnson scored seven straight points to trim the deficit back to eight. As time expired, Woodson scored in the paint to take it 45-38 heading into the final frame.

Woodson scored again on Eastern's first possession of the fourth quarter to make it a five-point game, but the Eagles would not get any closer. York closed the game with authority, shooting seven-of-eight from the field and six-of-10 from the charity stripe to secure the victory.

"It was just a tough loss. We are very young and it's a lot of growth and learning. We didn't start playing until the second half. But it's still early. We are figuring out a few things. But we have seen a few things to improve on. Just have to continue to chip away."

Eastern Women's Basketball will be back in action this coming Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Hood. The contest is set to begin at 8 pm.