ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Behind a trio of double-digit scorers and another strong second half, Eastern Women's Basketball kept their MAC Commonwealth playoff hopes alive with a 57-49 victory over Albright on Tuesday night at The NEST. Jeriyah Johnson and Camila Sosa each scored 14 points, while Wynter Bess recorded her second straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds to secure Eastern's 10th win of the season.

Eastern trailed by four at halftime after a tough second quarter, but as has been the case over their last few games, the Eagles found their rhythm in the final two frames. Eastern outscored the Lions 20-8 in the third quarter and led by as many as 16 in the second half.

The Eagles (10-13, 6-7) got off to roaring start, cruising out to a 12-4 advantage in the first six minutes. Sosa got the scoring on Eastern's first possession, and a Johnson three put the Eagles ahead 5-0. A Miranda Liebtag layup, followed by five straight points from Bess, pushed the Eagles' advantage to eight. Albright answered with a 6-0 run, trimming the lead down to 12-10, but a pair of Sosa free throws kept the Eagles ahead, 14-10, at the break.

Liebtag and Sosa each hit field goals early in the second quarter to push the Eagles' lead to 19-12. Albright, however, responded with a 12-0 surge over the next four-and-a-half minutes, capped by a Mackenzie Dover layup on a fast break, to go up by five. Bess and Trinity Upton each scored baskets to cut the advantage to one in the final minute, but a Jacey Petruno three put the visiting Lions ahead 28-24 at the half.

After the Lions increased their lead to six early in the third frame, Eastern began to push back, eventually going up by one on five straight points from Johnson and a Sosa layup. The two teams then traded points back and forth, before the Eagles scored nine straight points over the final 4:58. Liebtag gave Eastern the lead for good with 3:37 to go in the frame, and Sosa followed with six straight to put the Eagles ahead by eight.

In the fourth, Eastern salted the game away with eight combined points from Johnson, Bess, and Taryn Woodson on four straight possessions, building its advantage to 16 points. From the 3:56 mark of the third quarter to the 6:12 mark of the fourth, Eastern outscored Albright 17-0. The Eagles never trailed by less than eight the rest of the way.

The Eagles' defense held Albright to 18-of-61 from the field, including just seven-of-28 after halftime. Eastern forced 22 turnovers, sixteen of them coming off of steals.

"I am very proud to have finished our last home game of the season with a win," Eastern Head Coach Sarah Fowler said. "Sixteen steals is an incredible stat, and Wynter did everything for us tonight."

With the win, Eastern has the chance to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot with a win over Messiah in Grantham on Saturday. The Eagles will need a little help in the form of an Alvernia or Albright loss, but a victory over the league-leading Falcons could potentially clinch their second MAC Commonwealth playoff berth in the last three seasons. After losing its first five games, Eastern finished 10-8 over the last 18 games.

Eastern will be on the road at Messiah on Saturday to close out the regular season. The contest is set to begin at 1:00 pm.