ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Women's Basketball battled valiantly on Saturday afternoon, but dropped a 70-63 decision to the Albright Lions at The NEST. In a game that was close from start to finish, the Lions (6-7, 2-0) were able to pull away in the fourth quarter, using a 18-11 run over the final 6:35 to pick up their second conference win.

Eastern (5-8, 0-2) trailed by six heading into the final frame, but were able to tie the contest at 52-52 on a Jeriyah Johnson three-pointer. Albright began their run after that, turning the tie into an 11-point lead with 1:04 remaining.

The Lions were nearly automatic from the charity stripe in the fourth frame, knocking down 12 of their 15 attempts, and big baskets from Kenedy Cooper and Chrisdin Jones put Albright in the driver's seat. Johnson hit another three and converted a four-point play to cut the Lions' lead to six with less than a minute left, but the Eagles would not draw any closer. The Lions were dominant on the boards, bringing down 49 rebounds to Eastern's 35 and scoring 13 second chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.

The two teams were even in the first quarter, playing to a 14-14 tie. Albright scored the first five points of the game before Tychelle Gordon converted a layup for Eastern's first points. A free throw from Gordon and a made jumper by guard Aarin Manuel tied the game at 5-5, and both teams traded baskets and free throws for the remainder of the first half.

Albright built a six-point lead close to the midway point of the second frame, but the Eagles answered with an 11-2 run to go up 28-27 with a 1:07 remaining in the quarter.  Adriana Summersett hit a three, Sophia Vera hit a pair of free throws, and Madeline Wylie hit on a pair of layups to put the Eagles ahead 28-27. With 30 seconds left, Summersett hit another triple to give the Eagles a 31-29 lead heading into the break.

Neither team led by more than two points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but Albright scored eight straight points over the next three minutes to take their biggest lead of the game at that point, 43-36. A three-pointer from Manuel and a jumper from Johnson pulled the Eagles within two points with 1:37 remaining, but the Lions were able to keep a slim 47-44 advantage heading into the final frame.

John scored seven of Eastern's first eight points of the fourth quarter, tying the contest at 52-52 on her second-to-last three-pointer of the day, but Albright's strong play down the stretch proved to be the difference.

Johnson led the Eagles with 19 points on six field goals and three triples, while Gordon finished the game with 12 points and four boards. Summersett scored 11 points, which included three three-pointers, and Wylie added nine points and a team-high six rebounds.

Eastern will return home on Wednesday to take on the Widener Pride. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.