The Wilkes University women's basketball team took a 73-53 win over Eastern, marking the largest margin of victory for the Lady Colonels in recent memory.
All but three players scored in the win as the Lady Colonels improved to 4-3 on the year and 1-1 in Freedom Conference play. Sam Lyman led the way with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line, while
Mackensey O'Hara (Otego, N.Y./Unatego) and
Chelsey Gosse (Allentown, Pa./Dieruff) had 12 and 10 points respectively.
O'Hara nearly had a flawless afternoon, hitting 6-of-6 shots from the field while pulling down seven rebounds with two assists and a block in 21 minutes of action.
As a team, Wilkes shot a season-high 47.4 percent from the field and hit 14-of-19 free throws for 73.7 percent. While the Lady Colonels had their way offensively, Eastern attempted 71 shots, but made just 20, including just eight in the first half.
Eastern had the lead for the first 9:03 of action until
Brittany Ely (Montrose, Pa./Montrose) gave the Lady Colonels a one-point advantage with 10:57 to go in the first after converting a layup. Ely's bucket sparked a 9-3 run that eventually gave the Lady Colonels an 11-point lead (33-22).
The Eagles held a 13-12 advantage after a jumper by Tobin Hannah, who scored a team-high 13 points, with 12:02 to go in the first, but they would not score again until nearly five minutes. By that time the Lady Colonels had a cushion they would not relinquish.
Eastern's offensive woes would not stop their as it scored just four points over a nine minute span and closed out the half by scoring two points over the last 3:16 of the period.
The Lady Colonels poured it on in the second half, holding at least a 16-point advantage for the last 17:00 minutes of action.
All 12 players played and contributed for Wilkes in the win and all but one player attempted at least one field goal and all but two had one rebound in the win.
The win over Eastern begins a four-game homestand for Wilkes and will await Keystone for a Dec. 13 non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. in the Marts Center.
