ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University women's basketball team struggled to slow down Nazareth College on the defensive end in their 74-57 loss on Friday night.

The Saxons (7-10, 2-6 Empire 8) forced 17 turnovers, but the Golden Flyers (11-5, 6-1 Empire 8) shot 42.6 percent from the field in their win.

Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell) led the Saxons with a team-high 15 points to go with three rebounds and three steals. Anne Spilla (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) finished with 10 points and six boards. Karly Welty (Portville, NY/Portville Central) totaled seven points along with a team-high nine rebounds.

"We played a pretty good first quarter and definitely set the pace early," Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "We did a nice job continuing to compete throughout and for that I'm always thankful. We know the challenge of playing the same team twice in a few days, and we also spoke about the probability it will look entirely different from Tuesday's game."


The Saxons relied on Rebecca Jewett (Nyack, NY/Nyack) in the opening minutes of the first quarter, as she scored the team's first five points. A successful layup from Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) gave AU a brief lead with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter. Five additional lead changes occurred, as the Saxons trailed 16-12 entering the second quarter. An 8-0 run by the Golden Flyers was ended by a three-point shot from Harkenrider. Nazareth continued to mount offensive pressure, as they finished the half on a 14-2 run to carry a 42-23 lead over Alfred University at halftime.

A three-point shot from Jewett opened scoring for the Saxons in the third quarter. Five different players scored for AU in the third quarter, but consistent shooting from the Golden Flyers left AU trailing 52-34 entering the final quarter. A 9-0 run from Nazareth to open the fourth quarter was snapped by a successful layup from Gillian Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford). The Saxons continued to find shots, but the Golden Flyers held off any attempt at a comeback.

"We will be prepared to bounce back and go compete for a win tomorrow," Moskowitz said. 

Alfred University will next travel to play Houghton College on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 PM.