ST. DAVIDS, PA – Host Eastern University broke open a close game in the final quarter outscoring Wilkes University 22-7 over the final frame on way to a 76-47 victory Wednesday night in MAC Freedom play.
 
With the defeat Wilkes slips to 3-17 overall and stands 0-9 in league play. Eastern improves to 10-10 overall and 4-5 in conference games following the home win.
 
Wilkes trailed by just three points, 12-9, after one quarter when Emelie Meinhart (Bowmanstown, PA/Palmerton) canned a 15-foot jumper with 1:12 left in the stanza. Emily Sutton (Shavertown, PA/Lake Lehman) scored inside to start the second quarter cutting the deficit to just two, but Eastern answered scoring the game's next twelve points to pushed its advantage to 22-11 with 6:47 left in the half. The Eagles would settle for a 15-point lead, 39-24, heading into the break.
 
The lead grew to as many as twenty throughout the third frame before Wilkes scored eight straight points over a three minute span capped off by a Missy Oertner (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland) three-pointer with 1:47 on the clock. From there, Eastern used the 15-point advantage over the final ten minutes to seal the home conference victory.
 
Catey McFadden (Doylestown, PA/Archbishop Wood) led the Wilkes attack with a team-high nine points while Emily Sofranko (Jim Thorpe, PA/Marian Catholic) and Jamie Campbell (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) each added six points. Wilkes leading scorer Cara Basile (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) scored just three points on 1-of-10 shooting struggling to find a rhythm due to the Eastern defense.
 
Reggie Robinson led the Eagles scoring a game-high 18 points while adding 14 rebounds.
 
Wilkes continues to look for its first MAC Freedom win Saturday when the Lady Colonels travel to local rival Misericordia University for a matchup at 1:00 p.m. in Dallas, Pa.