Houghton, NY – A sluggish second quarter, coupled with hot-shooting all night from Houghton (63 percent), doomed Nazareth Tuesday as it fell 73-64 on the road in a pivotal conference showdown. 

With the loss, Nazareth is now 11-11 overall and 7-6 in conference play, holding a .5 game lead over Stevens (6-6) for the fourth spot in the Empire 8 Tournament. 

Rachel Benedict kept her strong streak of basketball alive, starting 4-of-5 from the floor in the opening quarter to help Nazareth open a 17-13 lead after the first quarter.  She led the visitors with 23 points and six rebounds.

Nazareth struggled though in the second quarter, scoring just six points, which allowed the Highlanders to seize a 36-23 halftime lead.

The Golden Flyers shot just 33.3 percent (10-for-30) in the half, compared to a blistering 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from the Highlanders, including going 5-for-7 from distance. 

Nazareth's leading scorer, Samantha Peebles, was limited to two first half points on 1-for-6 from the floor.  She ended the game with 13 points.

The closest Nazareth came in the second half was seven points, 71-64, with :26 seconds remaining following an Elizabeth White 3-pointer.

Sophomore Erica Bradley scored a career-high 13 points on 5-for-9 from the floor. 

Nazareth returns home Thursday, hosting Elmira at 8 p.m. The Soaring Eagles defeated Nazareth 66-62 earlier in the season.