READING, Pa. - Second quarter scoring woes proved to be the difference on Wednesday evening as Eastern Women's Basketball (2-11, 0-6 MACC) dropped a 66-51 decision to Albright at the Bollman Center. The Eagles trailed by five points after the first quarter of play, but the Lions used a lengthy scoring run in the second to take control of the contest and a lead they would not relinquish. 

After the Lions (9-6, 4-3 MACC) drew first blood on their first possession, Jakaylah Holland answered with a triple to give Eastern its only lead of the game at 3-2 in the opening minute. However, Albright countered with a 10-0 run, including a pair of three-pointers, to turn its one-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Eastern scored seven straight points on buckets from Wynter Bess, Ebony Johnson, and Jeriyah Johnson to cut the Albright advantage to two, but the Lions answered with a buzzer-beating three to take a 15-10 lead into the second quarter. 

Holland and Stephanie White scored the first four points of the second quarter, making it a 15-14 Albright lead with eight minutes to play in the first half. After two Albright free throws, Bess scored her second field goal to make it 17-16, but after that, the Eagles offense went cold. Over the final 5:58 of the first half, the Lions outscored the Eagles 17-0, hitting six-of-12 from the field and three-of-five from beyond the arc in that span to take a 34-16 lead into halftime. The Eagles missed their final six field goal attempts, while turning the ball over five times. 

The Lions led by double-digits the rest of the way. The Eagles battled, eventually cutting a 20-point deficit to 11 with 3:33 to play in the contest, but they would not get any closer. For the game, Eastern shot just 24.4 percent (19-of-78) from the field and four-of-16 (25 percent) from beyond the arc. 

"It was a tough loss, but the team fought hard," Eastern Head Coach Eric Houston said. "The second quarter was tough for us, but we played hard in the third and fourth. We just have to play all four quarters." 

Bess led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points to go along with four rebounds, while Jeriyah Johnson collected 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Holland recorded seven points and four rebounds, while both White and Ebony Johnson scored six off the bench. 

The Eagles return home to the NEST on Saturday for a MAC Commonwealth showdown with Stevenson. The contest is set to begin at 1:00 pm.