Score: Nazareth College 60, Elmira College 49
Records: Nazareth (12-11, 8-6 E8), Elmira (12-9, 4-8 E8)
Location: Rochester, N.Y. -- Kidera Gymnasium
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A hot-shooting fourth quarter by Nazareth College proved to be too much for the Elmira College women's basketball team, as the Soaring Eagles fell to the Golden Flyers by a 60-49 final score on Thursday evening in Empire 8 Conference at the Kidera Gymnasium in Rochester, New York.

The Purple and Gold were led in tonight's contest by a strong two-way performance from Lauren Franklin '20. The product of Binghamton, New York, paced the team in both points (15) and rebounds (9). Also finishing the night with a stellar all-around performance was Rachel Vespucci '19, who tallied nine points and eight boards, falling just shy of recording her fourth double-double of the year. With 10 points on the night, Lindsey Heaton '19 rounded out EC's double-digit scorers.

Both team's struggled to find their strokes at points in tonight's game. Despite owning a slim shooting advantage in the first half, Elmira's 32.0 field-goal percentage (16-for-50) was just below Naz's 34.4 percent (22-for-64) outing. The Golden Flyers also possessed slim leads over EC in rebounds (43-to-39) and turnovers (7-to-13).

Elmira got off to a hot start in tonight's contest, as they stormed out to a 6-0 lead to open the game. Danielle Cleary '18 capped off the run with a layup at the 6:15 mark of the first quarter. With a solid defensive performance added to this quick start, EC was able to take a 10-7 advantage after the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Golden Flyers started to find their stroke, as they were able to tie the score at 14-14 4:35 into the period. Naz's improved offensive play allowed it to take a three-point lead, 21-18, late in the quarter. This is how the score would have stayed if Vespucci had not sunk a layup off of an offensive rebound with 25 seconds left before the break, which cut Elmira's deficit to one, 21-20.

Elmira and Nazareth traded blows in the hard-fought third quarter. The Golden Flyers held the advantage for most of the period, a lead that never grew over four points. The Soaring Eagles retook the advantage in the final minute with a highlight play from Franklin. Franklin swiped the ball from a Naz dribbler and drove it straight to the paint to secure an and-one attempt. With the made free throw, EC went up by one point, 35-34, heading into the fourth quarter.

It was in the fourth quarter where tonight's game got away from the Soaring Eagles. The fuel for this surge was an influx of made 3-pointers, as Nazareth sank five of its seven treys in the final period. With this improved shooting, the Golden Flyers took a 12-point advantage, 51-39, which Elmira was unable to cut below double digits for the remainder of the bout.

News and Notes

• Elmira fell to 12-9 overall and 4-8 against Empire 8 opponents.
• EC had a rough night from beyond the arc, as it made a season-low one trey against Naz.
• The Golden Flyers committed just seven turnovers, which is tied for the lowest total by a Purple and Gold opponent this year.
• With seven points tonight, Cleary is just one point shy of tying Mary Kay Babcock '82 (1,457) for the second-most in program history.
• Franklin tied a career high with 15 points tonight.
• Heaton has tallied double-digit points in six of the last seven games.
• Vespucci has hauled in at least eight rebounds in four consecutive bouts.

 
Up Next
The Elmira women return to action on Saturday, February 10, when they welcome Utica College to Speidel Gymnasium for an E8 tilt. The contest, which is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m., will serve as the Soaring Eagles' Class of 2018 Recognition Day.