SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Shippensburg University women's basketball sophomore forward Lauren Beckley totaled her 10th consecutive double double but Clarion made 34-of-37 free throw attempts en route to an 88-81 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at Heiges Field House.
It was also the 19th double double on the season for Beckley who finished with 31 points and 18 rebounds, marking her sixth game this year she has scored at least 30 points.
Shippensburg (17-7, 5-4 PSAC West) led by two points, 71-69 with 22 seconds remaining after Beckley made the second of two free throws. However, with just two seconds left, Beckley was whistled for her fifth foul on an offensive rebound by Clarion's Katrina Greer sending her to the line for two shots.
Greer, the PSAC leader in free throw percentage at 88.5 percent, would hit both free throws to send the game to overtime, marking the first overtime contest for both teams this season.
As a team, the Golden Eagles (16-7, 6-3 PSAC West) also entered Saturday's game atop the PSAC in free throw percentage and ranked third in Division II, hitting 78.5 percent of its attempts.
Clarion, which has now won four of its last six meetings with Shippensburg, including four of five at Heiges Field House, scored eight of the first 10 points in overtime to take an 81-74 lead with 1:38 remaining. The Golden Eagles then sealed the victory by converting 7-of-8 attempts from the free throw line.
The game was a match-up of two of the top three teams in the PSAC Western Division as both entered in a tie for second-place with identical 5-3 conference records. However, the loss dropped Shippensburg into fourth place in the standings with just three games to play. The top four teams advance to the PSAC Women's Basketball Championship that begins March 4.
The Lady Raiders led by five at halftime, 37-32, but the Golden Eagles opened the second half on a 10-4 run to take its first lead, 42-41 with 16:07 remaining, since the 7:03 mark in the first half.
The Golden Eagles extended the lead to six points with 8:52 remaining, but Shippensburg managed to stay in the game despite having three of its five starters with four fouls with over nine minutes left in regulation.
The game featured nine ties, three of which came in the final 4:55. There were also eight lead changes. Clarion led for a majority of the second half before Shippensburg re-took the lead on two free throws from Beckley who was fouled shooting a three-pointer with 2:39 to play.
Beckley led three Lady Raiders in double figures as freshman forward Kasey Gardner had 19 points to go along with six rebounds while senior guard #Megan Fogle# totaled 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Gardner played in 44 of the game's 45 minutes.
Six Golden Eagles finished with double figures as My'Kea Cohill had a team-high 20 points in addition to seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Forwards Jessica Albanese and Janelle Zabresky combined for 31 points and 23 rebounds as both had double doubles.
Shippensburg will play its final road game of the season on Wednesday when it travels to California (Pa.) to take on the Vulcans at Hamer Hall. California (Pa.) has won 12 of the last 14 meetings with the Lady Raiders, including the last nine-straight at home.
The last victory for Shippensburg at Hamer Hall came back on Jan. 19, 2000, 70-56. Game time is at 6:00 p.m.
Game notes: The Shippensburg University men's and women's basketball teams joined over 1,000 teams from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, junior college/community college, high school and AAU who took part in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) "Think Pink" initiative on Saturday. As a result of its efforts, Shippensburg will be donating $1,543 to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
- Lady Raider Basketball -
