Score: Nazareth College 71 – Elmira College 56
Records: Nazareth (7-9, 3-4 E8), Elmira (5-10, 2-5 E8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. --  A late fourth-quarter run by Nazareth sunk the Elmira College women's basketball team, 71-56, on Tuesday night at Speidel Gymnasium.
 
EC and Nazareth played even basketball for three-plus quarters, as the score sat tied the game at 48-all following a Lauren Franklin '20 trey and a Rachel Vespucci '19 layup in back-to-back processions with 9:10 left in the game.   
 
Unfortunately for Elmira, its offense went ice cold in the final five minutes of the game, as EC scored just two points for the rest of the matchup. While the Soaring Eagles were struggling, Naz's Sam Sorge started to take over the game, as she scored 11 of her game-high 35 points in that span. Naz's 15-2 run to end the contest inflated the final score to 71-56.
 
Both programs struggled to find their shooting strokes in the first quarter, as neither program shot over shot below 37-percent for the quarter. Despite EC's shooting woes, Vespucci played well, as she scored a team-high six points and grabbed four boards. Vespucci's strong play propelled the Soaring Eagles to the 14-12 first-quarter lead.
 
Vespucci continued her impressive play into the second, as she finished the half with 11 points and seven rebounds. Her layup with 3:04 left in the half sparked an 8-2 run to end the quarter that pulled EC's halftime margin to 29-28.
 
Lindsey Heaton '19 started to hit her stride at the beginning of the second half, as she scored 6-of-12 points in the third.  Her jumper in the paint at the 8:12 mark of the third gave Elmira its largest lead of the half, 35-30. Although the Soaring Eagles held the early lead in the half, the Golden Flyers started to battle back, as they took a 48-43 lead into the fourth.

Vespucci finished the contest with her eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 boards. Franklin finished just behind her with 13 points and seven rebounds. Heaton rounded out the Elmira double-digit scorers with 12 points to go along with six boards and four assists.

Turing Point
After a Danielle Cleary '18 bucket that cut the Naz advantage to 56-54, it looked like the Speidel crowd was in store for a battle in the last five minutes of the game. This would not be the case, as Sorge took the matchup into her hands by making back-to-back 3-pointers in a 30-second span. She continued the damage, as she outscored the Soaring Eagles 11-to-2 by herself in the final five minutes. Elmira had no answers, as the team combined to go 1-for-4 in that span on its way to the 15-point loss.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira had trouble finding its shot all night, as they shot 20-for-65 (30.8%) from the field.
• The Golden Flyers had more success offensively, as they went 26-for-59 (44.1%) from the floor.
• EC performed well on the boards, as the Soaring Eagles out-rebounded Naz, 46-40.
• Both teams struggled with turning the ball over, as Elmira committed 20 and Naz finished with 16.
• The Golden Flyers finished with just one more assists than EC, 8-7.
• Vespucci led the way for the Soaring Eagles with her double-double on a team-high 16 points and a game-high 11 boards.
• Franklin posted another strong outing with 13 points and seven rebounds.
• Heaton did a little bit of everything for EC, as she finished with 12 points, six boards and four assists.
• Sorge paced all scorers with 35 points.
• Naz's Rachel Benedict finished with a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds.

News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles' record fell to 5-10 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
• After winning its first three home contests, EC has dropped four-straight at Speidel Gymnasium.
• Vespucci recorded her eighth double-double of the season.
• The last Soaring Eagle to post at least eight double-doubles was former Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year Jennifer Parker '06 recorded 10 in the 2003-04 season.  
• Heaton posted her seventh consecutive double-digit scoring effort.
• The last Soaring Eagle to match this feat was Cleary, who did it nine-straight times in the middle of last season.
• With six points, Cleary needs just 21 to become the sixth member of the Elmira 1,000-point club.
• Freshman Bridget Yaw '20 set new career highs in both points (5) and rebounds(4). 
• Sorge's 35 points are the most by an EC opponent.  

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles take a break from E8 action when they challenge non-league opponent Wells College on Thursday, January 26th. The game between Elmira and the Express is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at Speidel Gymnasium.