ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - On Wednesday night at the NEST, Eastern Women's Basketball dropped a defensive struggle to Alvernia, 47-38. Both teams shot under 30 percent from the field, but the Golden Wolves (14-7, 9-3 MACC) hit key shots in the third quarter and down the stretch to secure the win.
Taryn Woodson put together a strong performance for the Eagles (4-15, 2-9 MACC) with a team-high 14 points on six-of-11 shooting to go along with nine rebounds.
Jakaylah Holland finished with eight points and a team-best 13 rebounds, while
Tyerra Jarvis added a career-best six points on three-of-six shooting off the bench.
After a scoreless four-and-a-half minutes to start the game, Woodson finally connected on a layup for the game's first points. The two teams combined for just 12 points in the opening quarter, with the Golden Wolves taking a 7-5 lead into the second frame.
Baskets from Woodson and Holland tied the contest at 9-9 with 7:41 to play in the first half, but the Golden Wolves outscored the Eagles 12-5 in the following 6:51 to take a 21-12 lead at the break. Eastern made just two of their final eight field goals, shot one of four from the line, and the turned the ball over four times.
The Eagles opened the second half on a 9-2 run, trimming the Golden Wolves' lead to 23-21, but Alvernia countered with a 12-5 surge of their own to take a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Golden Wolves scored the first basket of the final period to go up by double-digits and led between nine and 14 points the rest of the way.
Eastern played solid defense, holding the Golden Wolves to just 27.9 percent shooting for the game. However, the Eagles shot only 28.8 percent (15-of-52) from the field and only one-of-10 from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Eagles turned the ball over 24 times, which led to 26 Alvernia points.
"We played hard, but we didn't play smart," Eastern Head Coach
Eric Houston said. "We turned the ball over way too many times and we just could not get any shots to fall. We have to be better heading into Saturday."
The Eagles will make the quick trek to Chester on Saturday afternoon to do battle with Widener for the second time this season. The contest is set to begin at 1:00 pm.
