ALFRED, N.Y. – Poor shooting doomed visiting Nazareth Friday as the Golden Flyers dropped an Empire 8 Conference women's basketball game to Alfred, 59-56.

The upset win kept alive Alfred's hope for an Empire 8 playoff berth. The Saxons are 12-12 overall, 7-8 in conference games and in sixth place in the E8 standings. They are battling Russell Sage for the fifth and final playoff spot for next week's conference tournament.

Nazareth dropped to 15-9 overall and 10-5 in the Empire 8. Despite the setback, Nazareth can clinch third place in the standings with a victory Saturday at Houghton. Tip time is 2 p.m. Alfred hosts Utica.

Alfred's win snapped an 21-game losing streak, spanning 11 seasons, against the Golden Flyers, including a 74-57 defeat at Nazareth on Jan. 28. Alfred's last win over Nazareth came in February of 2011.

Alfred outscored Nazareth 41-33 in the second half Friday and prevailed after squandering an 11-point fourth-quarter lead. Nazareth struggled with its shooting all night as the Golden Flyers went 21-for-61 from the field overall (34.4%) and just 3-for-24 (12.5%) from three-point range. Alfred's shooting (20-for-62, 32.3%) was even worse, but the Saxons sank all five of their three-pointers in the second half, including two in the decisive fourth quarter.

Nazareth led 23-18 at the half after shooting just 1-for-15 from three-point range. Jadyn Abrams scored eight of her team-high 17 points in the third quarter, but Alfred hit three three-point baskets to bring a 40-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

A 9-2 Alfred scoring run opened the fourth quarter and boosted the Saxons' lead to 11 points, 49-38. Nazareth then went on a run of its own, scoring 13 straight points to regain the lead at 51-49 with 4:20 left. Abrams helped fuel the run with her only three-pointer of the game and Kim Davis added four of her 10 points.

Another 9-2 scoring run enabled the Saxons to regain the lead for good, but a three-pointer by Makalah Sizer closed the gap again. The teams exchanged turnovers in the closing seconds as Alfred was able to hang on.

Abrams and Davis each recorded double-doubles for Nazareth. Abrams' 17 points included a 5-for-5 effort from the free throw line. She also had 10 rebounds. Davis had a game-best 13 rebounds to go with her 10 points. Miyah Sizer also scored 10 points for Nazareth before fouling out late in the game.