FREDERICK, Md. - Eastern Women's Basketball got off to a strong start against MAC Commonwealth foe Hood on Tuesday night, but a lengthy, first-half scoring run for the Blazers proved dividends in an eventual 66-53 loss. After the Eagles jumped out to an early 9-0 lead, the Blazers used a 31-13 run over the reminder of the first half to take a lead they would not relinquish. 

First-year guard Jeriyah Johnson and sophomore forward Taryn Woodson combined to score the first nine points for the Eagles (1-6, 0-2 MACC) in the first quarter, and the Eastern defense held Hood off the scoreboard for the first six minutes of the contest. Johnson's third basket of the game put the Eagles up 11-2, but the Blazers were able to trim the lead to 13-9 at the first quarter break. 

Hood (3-5, 1-2 MACC) dominated the second quarter, knocking down nine of their 15 shot attempts (60 percent). The Blazers outscored the Eagles 22-9 and forced nine turnovers, while holding the Eagles to just five total shot attempts in the period. After Hood tied the contest at 17-17 at the 6:21 mark of the frame, a three-pointer from Na'Vaye Quarles put the Blazers ahead for good. Eastern get back within two points at 22-20 on a triple from Johnson, but Hood ended the first half on a 9-2 surge to take a 31-22 lead into the halftime break. 

The Blazers never let their lead dip below nine points in the quarter, and led by as many as 14 points in the final 10 minutes. The Eagles pulled within seven points on a layup from Kayla Worsley-Wooten with 4:39 to play, but Hood hit three of their final five field goal attempts and shot nine-of-11 from the charity stripe to secure the triumph. 

The Eagles finished the contest shooting just 19-of-48 (39.6 percent) from the field and seven-of-22 (31.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Furthermore, Eastern struggled mightily at the foul line, knocking down just eight of their 21 attempts (38.1 percent).

"That second quarter was our undoing," Eastern Head Coach Eric Houston said. "We gave Hood far too many extra chances and our offense just couldn't knock down shots. It's a disappointing result, and we hope to get things corrected for Saturday.

Johnson continued her solid first-year campaign against the Blazers, leading the Eagles in scoring for the fifth time this season. The first-year guard from Lancaster finished the contest with 21 points on seven-of-15 shooting and four-of-eight from three-point range. Woodson scored 11 points on five-of-seven shooting to go along with nine rebounds, while Worsley-Wooten rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers with 10 points. 

The Eagles return to The NEST on Saturday afternoon for another MAC Commonwealth showdown with Widener. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.