WILKES BARRE - The Wilkes University women's basketball team fell to Eastern in a close MAC Freedom contest on Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center.
 
After the loss to the Eagles (10-9, 5-3 MACF) the Colonels fall to 8-11 overall and 2-6 in conference.
 
Eastern opened up the game with a 5-0 run. Wilkes responded with a 6-0 run of their own, including four points from Senior center Gianna Roberts (Nanticoke, PA/Nanticoke), to give them and early one-point advantage. Senior guard Alyssa Alfano (Dunmore, PA/Holy Cross) had a strong first quarter for the Colonels contributing 7 points, including one three-pointer. The first quarter ended at a 13-13 stalemate.
 
Wilkes started the second quarter with a 7-3 run to give them a 20-16 lead. Eastern would tie the game back up at 20 after a 4-0 run of their own. The Colonels would go on to end the half on a 7-4 run to give them a 27-24 advantage going into halftime.
 
Roberts opened the scoring in the second half with a layup to give Wilkes a 29-24 advantage. After a pair of free throws from the Eagles, junior guard Maddie Kelley (Dallas, PA/Dallas) drilled a three-pointer to push the Colonel lead 32-26 at the 7:21 mark in the third quarter. Wilkes held a 41-36 advantage going into the fourth period.
 
An 11-5 run by Eastern to start the fourth quarter would give the Eagles their first lead of the second half with the score 47-46 at the 5:54 mark. The Colonels were able to keep the score close for the remainder of the game but were unable to regain the lead allowing Eastern to take home the win with a final score of 63-59.
 
Alfano, Freshman guard Macy Berryman (Stroudsburg, PA/Pocono Mountain East), and Roberts all finished in double figures for Wilkes with 13, 11, and 10 points respectively. Roberts also contributed five rebounds, while Berryman pulled down four rebounds. Kelley nearly finished with a double-double for the Colonels as she added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Kay Wulah scored a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles. Jaelyn Harris added 19 points and four rebounds off the bench for Eastern.
 
Wilkes returns to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Hoboken, N.J. to face Stevens at 5:00 P.M. The Ducks controlled the first matchup earlier this season in a 84-54 game at the Marts Center.