BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Seniesha Sekaquaptewa (Scottsdale, Ariz.) came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points to help lift the Eastern Nazarene College women's basketball team to a 53-36 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Lions improve to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in league play while the Leopards fall to 1-5 (0-2) with the setback.
The visitors built an early 9-3 lead before the Leopards squashed a four-minute scoring drought with a layup from senior Haley Sabino (Topsfield, Mass.). Sophomore Amber Amortegui (Davie, Fla.) sunk a layup at the 3:05 mark, igniting an 8-4 charge to close out the first stanza, capped by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Sekaquaptewa.
Wentworth came out strong after the short break, and used a 5-0 charge to pull within five (17-12) with four points coming off the hands of freshman Erin Morton (Norway, Maine). The Lions knocked down two free throws to bump the lead to 19-12, but Morton fired back with a shot from downtown, trailing the visitors by just two possessions, 19-15. After a jumper from Sabino with 4:20 left, Eastern Nazarene went on a 10-0 run to close the half, as senior Jacquelin Arretche (Los Banos, Calif.) and Sekaquaptewa teamed up for nine points from long range to hold a 32-17 lead at halftime.
Eastern Nazarene led by as many as 23 in the fourth quarter before a 12-2 Wentworth run, capped off by a three-point play from sophomore Samantha Madden (Plainville, Mass.) brought the Leopards within 14. However, that would be as close as the hosts would come.
Arretche added eight points in the win for the Lions while junior Tia Torio (Manteca, Calif.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Madden led the Leopards with 12 points while Morton chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.
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Both teams are back home for their next contest on Tuesday, December 5. The Leopards will host the Seakhawks of Salve Regina, while the Lions welcome the Golden Bears of Western New England University. Both tip-offs are slated for 5:30 p.m.
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