WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior guard Jordyn Lummus (Pittsfield, Mass.) registered a double-double, but the Owls surrendered a late lead against Eastern Nazarene in a 66-61 defeat at the Ed Hockenbury Classic consolation game from Andrews Hall in Northfield, Vermont.
The Owls drop to 5-4 on the season while the Lions improve to 2-5 overall.
Both teams got off to sluggish scoring starts, with Westfield trailing Eastern Nazarene 11-9 after one quarter. The Lions gained a six-point advantage in the middle stages of the second quarter until sophomore Maddie Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) buried a triple, then Jess Gardner (Webster, Mass.) followed with a layup and added a free throw to quickly erase the deficit. Both teams traded buckets down the stretch in the half, with Te'yalla Simpson (Fairfield, Texas) connecting on a lay-in just before time expired to give the Lions a 25-21 lead heading into the break.
Westfield opened the second half with a 10-0 run, beginning with a layup from Mia-Angelina Leslie (Lewiston, Maine). Pond gave the Owls their first lead of the second half with a three pointer, then Lila Labrie (Southampton, Mass.) followed on the ensuing possession with a triple of her own to extend the lead to four. Leslie converted on a pair of free throws to cap the scoring run, giving the Owls a 31-25 advantage.
Alondra Jimenez (Santa Barbara, Calif.) provided the first bucket of the quarter for the Lions, but the Owls were able to drive the lead up to eight points on consecutive makes from Lindsey Bohenko (Lowell, Mass.) and Leslie.
The Owls would push the lead up to nine points before Eastern Nazarene ripped off an 9-0 run of their own in the closing minutes of the frame which was finished off by a Jimenez triple and then a bucket and free throw from Delaney Walker (Nampa, Idaho) to level the game at 39 apiece. On the final possession of the third quarter, Lummus managed to draw a shooting foul as time expired, resulting in three made free throws to give Westfield a narrow, three-point lead entering the final quarter.
Westfield began the fourth quarter by forcing three straight turnovers from the Lions, resulting in transition layups from Lummus and Leslie to distance the Owls lead back to seven points.
Anaira Ayala (Guaynabo, P.R.) responded with a three-point make, then junior Olivia Hadla (Westfield, Mass.) rattled home a triple, followed by a Lummus three on their next possession as Westfield secured their largest lead of the game at ten points (52-42) with 7:33 remaining in the game.
After an Eastern Nazarene timeout, the Lions quickly narrowed the scoring margin with Jimenez and Walker nailing consecutive threes to draw within four points. An additional 6-0 burst from the Lions would eventually knot the game at 54 with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.
Simpson registered a scoring run of her own for the Lions to give Eastern Nazarene a five-point lead with just 16 seconds left in the game. Pond netted a three to cut the deficit to two points, but free throws from Walker and then a late turnover for the Owls ultimately sealed the game.
Lummus and Pond led the team with 13 points each with Lummus securing 14 rebounds and Pond grabbing eight boards as well. Leslie finished a rebound shy of a double-double, compiling ten points and nine rebounds. Gardner was named as the Owls selection on the all-tournament team.
Jimenez was the leading scorer in the game, supplying 19 points and eight rebounds for Eastern Nazarene. Walker and Simpson also finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points.
Westfield State will continue their road trip as the Owls travel to Mitchell College on Tuesday for a non-conference matchup at 6:00 P.M.