BALTIMORE, Md. - Eastern Women's Basketball got off to a roaring start in its season opener on Friday night, but offensive struggles in the second and third quarters proved costly in an eventual 54-45 loss to Notre Dame of Maryland University. After taking a 20-9 lead after the first quarter, the Eagles were outscored 36-12 in the second and third frames as the Gators built an advantage they would not relinquish. 

Graduate forward Wynter Bess led the Eagles with 11 points on four-of-eight shooting and three-of-five from beyond the arc. Junior forward Jakaylah Holland finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points and a team-high nine boards, while junior center Taryn Woodson finished the contest with nine points and five rebounds. As a whole, however, the Eastern offense struggled to score points. After shooting seven-of-14 from the field quarter, Eastern finished eight-of-41 in the final three frames and shot just 27.3 percent for the contest.

The Eagles came out firing, building a 12-2 lead in the first 2:40 of the contest. Jeriyah Johnson, Eastern's leading scorer from a season ago, started the scoring with a triple, and five quick points from Bess put the Eagles ahead 8-2. Holland followed with a layup, two free throws, and a jumper to increase Eastern's advantage to 14-2 with 6:34 to play in the period. Eastern would go on to build its lead to a game-high 15 points on another three-pointer from Bess and layup from Holland.

However, the Eastern offense fell stagnant after that. From the 4:41 mark of the first period until the beginning of the fourth, the Eagles recorded just two field goals and eight free throws. With the Eagles unable to find consistent offense, the Gators clawed their way back, cutting the Eastern lead to 26-23 at the halftime. 

Notre Dame (1-1) tied the contest with a three-pointer on its first possession, and a layup off an Eastern turnover put the Gators ahead for good. Notre Dame built its advantage to 10 points at the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 12. The Eagles scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and were able to cut the lead to six twice in the latter stages, but were unable to draw any closer. Addtionally, the Eagles turned the ball over 22 times, which led to 18 Notre Dame points. 

"We have a lot to work on," Eastern Head Coach Sarah Fowler said. "This team has a lot of promise so we will keep working and keep aiming for better." 

Eastern (0-1) returns to action on Wednesday at Gettysburg. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.