Women’s Basketball Dropped By Nazareth, 72-39

AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College women's basketball team posted a 72-39 loss to the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College Tuesday evening at the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing. With the loss, the Express have lost five straight contests (1-6) while the Golden Flyers collect their second victory of the season (2-5) following the non-conference contest.

The Express never possessed a lead throughout regulation time, trailing by a 7-0 margin within the game's first two minutes. Before the halfway mark of the period, the Golden Flyers built a 13 point lead to capture a 21-8 advantage. At its largest, Nazareth possessed a 19 point lead of which they carried into halftime courtesy of a Michelle Melanson three pointer with 30 seconds remaining in the half.

Wells junior Ashley Roser (Taberg, N.Y.) led the way in the first half with nine points, six of them coming via field goals with the other three gathered at the free throw line. Freshman Holli Erkson (Cooperstown, N.Y.) ranked second on the squad with five points, courtesy of a three point basket and two foul shots. Junior Theresa Hernandez (Dewitt, N.Y.) posted two steals and a block in the frame.

The Express did not record an additional point until 3:16 into the second half when a Roser jump shot landed to cut the Nazareth lead to 24. Wells did not score against until a three pointer by sophomore Cassie Smythe (Eden, N.Y.) with 13:19, but by that point, the Golden Flyers' lead had built to 26 points.

Continuing to pour it on from beyond the arc was Nazareth, who hit back-to-back three pointers courtesy of Erica Shaw and Melanson at 10:08 and 9:41, respectively, to effectively place the game out of reach for the home team. The Wells deficit was at its largest (38 points) with 8:51 remaining following a Lindsey Kelly layup in the paint.

Roser once again led the team in points, posting a season-low 13 after converting five field goals and three foul shots. Erkson trailed Roser by only four points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe while getting two of her six field goals to go. Smythe forced home two three pointers on the afternoon en route to an eight point evening.

Kelly led the way for Nazareth, shooting 10-for-12 from the field while also posting two steals and eight rebounds. Melanson, off of the bench, was able to force home a team-leading four three pointers to settle for 16 points on the evening. Defensively, Colby McCartney tallied a team-leading three takeaways. Collectively as a team, the Golden Flyers shot 40.3%.

The Express open their North Eastern Athletic Conference schedule this Thursday, Dec. 6 as they host Cazenovia College at 6:00 p.m. at the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Wells College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WellsExpress) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WellsExpress).