ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - In its home opener on Wednesday night, Eastern Women's Basketball put together a spirited fourth-quarter comeback attempt, but ultimately fell to the Neumann Knights 51-44. The Eagles trailed by as many as 19 in the third quarter, but came roaring back to cut the Neumann advantage to six with 2:38 to play. However, the Knights were able to hold off the Eagles down the stretch to secure their fifth victory of the young season.
While the Eagles shot just 29.7 (19-of-64) percent from the field in the contest, the offense found its groove in the fourth frame. Eastern shot nine-of-19 (47.37 percent) from the floor and one-of-three from distance.
Fresh off a strong performance at Immaculata, junior forward
Taryn Woodson was excellent again on Wednesday night. The Harrisburg native scored 17 points on eight-of-18 shooting, while recording a season-high 18 rebounds. It was the third straight double-double for Woodson.
Jeriyah Johnson finished with 11 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, and
Camila Sosa added six points off the bench for Eastern.
Stephanie White also made the most of her minutes with four points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Both teams started slow, scoring just 10 combined points in the first 4:12 of the contest. However, the Knights used a 10-2 run over the remainder of the quarter to build a lead they would not relinquish. Sosa knocked down a jumper with 15 seconds left in the period to make it a 16-6 Neumann lead after one.
The Eagles punched back in the second, using a 9-2 run of their own to cut the Neumann advantage to three. Six of those points came from Woodson, with the other three coming off a triple from Sosa. Eastern, however, would not get any closer as the Knights built their lead back up to 11 at the halftime break.
Eastern trailed by 16 points at the end of the third and by 19 early in the fourth. From the 9:19 to the 2:38 mark, the Eagles seized the momentum. Eastern outscored the Knights 15-2 in almost seven minutes of play, capped off a steal and score from White. Johnson and
Miranda Liebtag were the main contributors of the run, combining to score the other 13 points.
The Knights were able to stave the tide. On their next possession, an offensive outback from Neumann junior Lauren Klieber made it an eight-point lead again, and the Eagles would not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Eastern will be back on the road Wednesday for a 6:00 pm matchup against Penn State Berks.
