Courtesy: Nazareth Athletics
Visiting Nazareth outscored Houghton 22-10 in the fourth quarter to lead to the 58-43 victory in a women’s Empire 8 basketball game Saturday afternoon. Senior Jadyn Abrams scored a game-high 22 points, and classmate Kim Davis added 10 points.
With the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 16-9 overall and 11-5 in Empire 8 games. Following the loss, the Highlanders fall to 9-16 overall and 3-13 in conference games. The win secures the third seed for Nazareth in next week’s Empire 8 Tournament. The Golden Flyers will play second-seeded Hartwick on Friday at St. John Fisher. Fisher is the host after finishing first in the conference standings. Nazareth will look to avenge its regular season losses to Hartwick in Friday’s conference semifinal.
Nazareth took a 36-33 edge into the final quarter after a pair of free throws from graduate student Haley Schoelerman in the closing seconds of the stanza. The Golden Flyers connected on a trio of three-point attempts in the opening three minutes of the fourth to surge to a 45-36 lead. After senior Miyah Sizer won the battle for a long rebound following a Houghton miss, she passed to Abrams who connected on her three-point attempt. Moments after subbing into the game, freshman Madilann Johnson buried her three from the left wing. Senior Caley Cornwall capped the run with her shot from outside the arc. The Golden Flyers extended their lead to double-digits on free throws by Abrams, and Miyah Sizer’s three-pointer stretched the lead to 15 points, 54-39 with 2:39 to play.
Nazareth was a torrid 66.7 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and was 4-5 on three-point attempts in the decisive quarter. Abrams led the Golden Flyers with nine points during the final frame, while Johnson and Miyah Sizer each had five points. Nazareth’s defense was strong during the fourth as well. The Golden Flyers held the Highlanders to under 30 percent from the field to secure the victory.
The first three quarters of the contest featured nine lead changes as neither team was able to put together a scoring run. Nazareth was hampered by missed opportunities as the Golden Flyers shot 24.5 percent from the field including 18.8 percent on three-pointers. Nazareth maintained its slim lead with a 15-3 advantage in offensive rebounds to score second chance points. Houghton, meanwhile, shot 32.4 percent from the field, including 23.5 percent from outside the arc during the first three quarters.
Nazareth finished with a 47-33 advantage in rebounds, led by Davis who amassed 16 boards. Miyah Sizer and Cornwall had three steals apiece to frustrate Houghton’s offense.
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