ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting Elmira rallied from a five-point halftime deficit Friday to defeat Nazareth, 64-55, in an Empire 8 Conference women's basketball game at the Kidera Gymnasium. Sophomore Lindsey Kelly led Nazareth with 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior Hannah Runyon added a career-high 16.

The game was the Empire 8 Conference opener for both teams. Nazareth dropped to 3-6 overall while Elmira improved to 5-2. Nazareth plays again Saturday at Houghton at 4 p.m.

Nazareth led by as many as 10 points in the first half before settling for a 31-26 lead after 20 minutes. Elmira led 12-6 early on, but the Golden Flyers erased that with a 15-0 scoring run, fueled by eight points from Runyon, including a pair of three-point baskets. Kelly added five points during that stretch that left Nazareth in front 21-12. The lead expanded to 10 points, 25-15, with five minutes left in the first half after a pair of free throws by sophomore Julia Brew and a basket by Kelly.

Nazareth maintained the lead for the first 12 minutes of the second half. A basket by Kelly with 8:33 left gave the Golden Flyers their final lead at 49-48. The Soaring Eagles then scored the next six points, including four by Jessica Zoltowski, to take the lead for good at 54-49. Zoltowski finished with game highs in points (23) and rebounds (11). She made 8-of-18 shots from the field and went 7-for-8 from the foul line. 

A pair of free throws by Kelly and a jumper by Runyon enabled Nazareth to close within one, 54-53, with 3:20 left, but Elmira answered with a pair of free throws by Zoltowski and gradually pulled away from there. Liz Forrest added four free throws and Karli Pochkar sank two more in the closing minute to seal the win for the Soaring Eagles, who host St. John Fisher Saturday at 4 p.m.

In addition to the scoring from Kelly and Runyon, Brew finished with 10 points and sophomore Veronica Peck had six assists. Forrest totaled 13 points and eight rebounds for Elmira. Maria Thannhauser had 10.