ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth surged to a 10-0 lead in the first 3:57 of the game and went on to defeat visiting Fredonia 76-65 in a non-conference women's basketball game. Tuesday's contest was the season opener for both teams. Senior Katie Kollar had a team-high 20 points for the Golden Flyers. Kollar finished 5-8 from beyond the three-point arc to help Nazareth build its lead.
Seniors Brittany Wilson and Danielle Chamberlain ignited the Golden Flyers' opening scoring run with Nazareth's first two baskets. Kollar stretched the Golden Flyers' lead with consecutive three-point baskets. Nazareth's defense forced the Blue Devils into five missed shots and three turnovers before Nicole Calbi put Fredonia on the scoreboard.
Nazareth's first half lead swelled to as many as 13 points before the Blue Devils trimmed it to seven points following a three-point play by Becky Hebert with 1:35 remaining in the period. Two free throws by Wilson before the end of the half provided the Golden Flyers with a 37-28 lead at the break.
Fredonia opened the second half with consecutive baskets by Jaimie Warren and Calbi to cut its deficit to five points, however, Kollar answered the brief scoring run with a three-point basket. With 11:38 to play in the second half, Kollar extended Nazareth's advantage to 15 points following a three-point play. Senior Brittany TallChief also had a three-point play to help the Golden Flyers rebuild their lead.
About two minutes after Kollar's basket and free throw, Nazareth extended its advantage to 22 points following two free throws by Chamberlain and one three-point basket apiece by seniors Brittany Patenaude and Erica Shaw. The Golden Flyers' lead stretched to a game-high 25 points, 75-50, with 3:23 remaining in regulation. Sophomore Megan Morrison, Shaw, and TallChief combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line and Shaw added a two-point basket to give Nazareth its largest lead of the game.
With the game seemingly out of reach, Fredonia went on a 15-0 scoring run in a span of 2:37 to cut Nazareth's lead to 75-65 with 22 seconds to play. The Blue Devils forced the Golden Flyers into five turnovers, a missed shot, and two missed free throws during the scoring run. During the scoring run, Fredonia was a torrid 6-6 from the field and 2-3 from the free throw line.
In addition to the points scored by Kollar, Wilson and TallChief tallied 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Chamberlain and Shaw each had seven points. Nazareth demonstrated its depth as 10 different players scored for the Golden Flyers. Wilson also finished with a team-high 10 rebounds. Nazareth had a 39-38 rebounding edge over Fredonia. As a team, the Golden Flyers finished 10-23 from beyond the three-point arc. Nazareth held the Blue Devils to 2-11 in their three-point field goal attempts.
Hebert finished with a team-high 19 points for Fredonia. Calbi had 14 points while Jenna Austin chipped in 10 points. Anna Riley finished as the team's leading rebounder with 10 boards.