ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Women's Basketball opened 2026 with a 61-57 win over the Wilkes Colonels on Saturday night at The NEST. First-year guard Adriana Summersett led the charge with career-high 21 points, and the Eagles shot 19-of-26 from the charity stripe to clinch their fifth win of the season.

With the Eagles trailing by one with 6:55 left to play, Summersett outscored Wilkes by herself. She began her run with a three-pointer from the wing, before converting a tip-in less than two minutes later to put the Eagles up four. Two possessions later, Summersett cashed in again, this time from the other wing, to put Eastern up 50-43 with 4:25 to play. After a Jeriyah Johnson jumper a few minutes later, Summersett hit a pair from the charity stripe to put the Eagles up by nine.

Despite a strong push from Wilkes in the latter stages, which included a triple to make it 59-57 with nine seconds to play, the Eagles kept their composure. The Eagles shot 10-of-15 from the line in the final frame. Johnson, who scored 15 points in the win, was a perfect 11-for-11 for the contest. She hit the final two free throws with seven seconds left to seal the victory.

Eastern's first five points came from the line, four of which came from Johnson, as the Eagles built an early advantage. A layup from first-year center Tychelle Gordon and another from fellow-first year Sophia Vera on back-to-back possessions put the Eagles ahead 9-2 with a 4:14 to play in the period.

Wilkes responded with a 17-5 run, taking a 19-14 lead early in the second quarter, but the Eagles did not falter. Summersett hit her first of five triples on Eastern's next possession to cut the deficit to two, and her second triple later in the frame put the Eagles back ahead at 24-21. With under a minute to play, Damiyae Moyet scored in the paint to put the Eagles ahead 28-25 at the halftime break.

The Eagles built their lead to a game-high 12 points early in the third. Vera started the quarter with a field goal, Summersett followed with a triple, and Johnson knocked down three free throws to put the Eagles up 39-27 with 7:16 to play. Wilkes, again, came roaring back, scoring 13 straight points to go ahead 40-39 heading into the fourth quarter, but Gordon's and-one to begin the frame, Summersett's run, and strong free shooting down the stretch put the Eagles back in the win column.

"We're happy to get a win coming back from break, and we feel energized going into conference play on Wednesday," Eastern Head Coach Sarah Fowler said. "Jeriyah stayed very focused at the free-throw line, and Adriana gave us some momentum on the offensive end. We're looking forward to taking on York next."

Vera was Eastern's third-leading scorer, scoring eight points to go along with seven rebounds. Moyet ended the game with seven points, while Gordon finished with five points and a team-high nine boards.

Eastern will begin MAC Commonwealth play this coming Wednesday with a 5:00 pm showdown with the York Spartans.