ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Women's basketball defeated Elmira 68-46 on Friday night to tally another conference win. Molly Benetti and Sarina McDowell each had a double-double to lead Nazareth to a victory.

With the win, Nazareth's record improves to 7-0 in the Empire 8 conference, and 13-3 overall, while Elmira falls to 1-6 in the conference and 7-9 overall.

In the first quarter, Elmira threw the first punch, outscoring Nazareth by seven. The first quarter was the Golden Flyers' weakest scoring quarter, shooting 27.27% from the field.

Within the first three minutes of the second quarter, the Golden Flyers had tied the game up at 20, but Elmira came back with an 8-0 run with five minutes left in the quarter. At the 3:10 mark, Nazareth had gotten Elmira's lead back down to three, but a three-point buzzer beater from the Soaring Eagles put Elmira up 31-25 heading into the second half.

Scoring for the Golden Flyers in the first half was Benetti with eight, McDowell with six, Madalyn Kelly and Payton Littlefield with three each, Katie MacLachlan and Brayden Schultz with two each, and Kiara Anglin with one.

Nazareth went into the second half hot, upping its shooting percentage from the second quarter by 10%. Halfway through the third quarter, Nazareth finally took the lead 34-33. Finishing the quarter with two made free throws from McDowell, the Golden Flyers headed into the final quarter with a lead over Elmira at 47-41.

In the final quarter, Nazareth hit the gas pedal on both offense and defense, scoring 21 points with a 53.85 shooting percentage, and holding Elmira to only five points. Halfway through the last quarter, the Golden Flyers gained a double-digit lead, and with one minute left of play Nazareth extended it's lead to 20. A slow start with a very hot finish allowed Nazareth to take another conference win at a score of 68-46 over Elmira.

Benetti led the scoring and rebounding efforts with a double-double from 18 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding three blocks. McDowell also added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, as well as accumulating three blocks. Kelly was the third Golden Flyer in double-digits, scoring 16 points and grabbing two steals. Tessa Schuey added six points on the game, as well as five assists and two rebounds. Leah Fusilli scored four points, pulled down three rebounds, and added two assists. Litttlefield and Anglin each had three total points, while Anglin also added six rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and three steals. Schultz and MacLachlan each added a pair of points, while MacLachlan also had four rebounds.

The Golden Flyers will be back at home on January 25th for a 2 p.m. conference match-up against the visiting Keuka Wolves.