ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - In its home opener on Monday evening at The NEST, Eastern Women's Basketball, despite a strong first quarter of play, couldn't get much going in the final three frames in an eventual 78-42 loss to the Gettysburg Bullets. The Eagles shot seven-of-15 in the first frame, including a pair of threes, and led by four points on two separate occasions. The Bullets, however, grabbed the lead with six minutes to go in the first frame and never looked back.
Senior
Kayla Worsley-Wooten was the catalyst in the Eagles' hot start. The Stroudsburg native knocked down a three on Eastern's first offensive possession to open the scoring and potted a second triple on the Eagles' following possession to put the Eagles up 6-2. The guard finished with 12 points in the contest and knocked down all four of Eastern's three-pointers.
The Eagles pushed their lead to four again on
Jeriyah Johnson's first field goal with 7:34 to play in the frame, but the Bullets responded with eight straight points to build an advantage they would not relinquish. The Eagles continued to knock down shots as
Dominique Geiger,
Damiyae Moyet, and
Trinity Upton each scored layups in the paint. Eastern trailed by just four points heading into the second frame.
Worsley-Wooten's third triple of the first half made it a 22-19 Gettysburg lead with 8:50 to play, but that was as close the Eagles would get the rest of the way. After that triple, the Eagles scored just 10 points until the fourth quarter. In the second and third frames, the Eagles were outscored 46-13 and knocked down just four field goals. The Bullets, conversely, shot a blistering 8-of-14 in the first quarter and 8-of-15 in the second to build their double-digit advantage.
Johnson carried the scoring load in the third and fourth frames, scoring 10 points of her 12 points in the final two quarters. The Lancaster native also finished with three assists, three rebounds, and a steal. The Bullets continued to add on, leading by as many as 40 points in the final quarter before securing the 36-point victory.
The Eagles shot just 24.1 percent (14-of-58) for the game and 20 percent (4-of-20) from beyond the arc. Additionally, Eastern was outrebounded 54-29 and gave up 18 offensive rebounds to a much taller Bullets' squad.
Upton scored five points, three rebounds, and two assists for the Eagles, while Geiger and
Tyerra Jarvis each finished with four. Geiger also added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Stephanie White led the Eagles with five rebounds.
For the Bullets, Mackenzie Szlosek led all scorers with 25 points on eight-of-14 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Alayna Arnolie recorded 13 points on six-of-10 shooting, while Shinya Lee added eight points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks.
Eastern (0-2) will be back on the road Wednesday at Susquehanna. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.
