Strong Defense Gives Nazareth a Record-Breaking Win

KEUKA PARK, NY – The Nazareth University Women's Basketball team limited Keuka to a season low 37 points and had a season-best 44 points margin of victory Tuesday night in an 81-37 Empire 8 victory on the road.

The win for Nazareth (14-1 overall, 6-0 Empire 8) was the school record breaking 13th straight victory and breaks the record of 12 straight wins set in 1988-89 and tied in 1989-90. Both of those teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the Golden Flyers.

Against Keuka, sophomore Molly Benetti led Nazareth with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field with six rebounds and a pair of blocks. Fellow sophomore Leah Fusilli added 10 points off the bench with a perfect 5-for-5 shooting effort from the floor.

Every player saw action and scored and grabbed a rebound for Nazareth.

The Golden Flyers scored the first six points of the game and a layup by sophomore Katie MacLachlan at the 5:57 mark gave Nazareth a 10-point lead at 14-4. A 3-pointer by freshman Madalyn Kelly near the end of the first quarter extended the lead to 25-9.

In the second quarter, Nazareth used a 20-0 run at the end of the period to take a 47-15 lead into the halftime intermission.

The Golden Flyers opened the third quarter with a 14-2 run and had a 63-22 lead after three quarters of play.

Sophomore Kiara Anglin and MacLachlan each scored nine points and freshman Sarina McDowell added eight points.

Nazareth returns home Saturday to face St. John Fisher in the annual Battle of the Beaks fundraising event at Kidera Gymnasium.