Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg women's basketball team held an 18-point halftime lead on Saturday afternoon over conference unbeaten Kutztown that the Golden Bears had virtually erased within the first five minutes of the second half, but the Lady Raiders clamped down when it mattered most and were clutch down the stretch in a crucial 71-60 victory from Heiges Field House.

Shippensburg (9-8, 3-1 PSAC East) attacked the conference's best defensive team against three-point shots with eight first-half triples and 14 in the game, finishing the contest shooting 53 percent from behind the arc. The Lady Raiders made their most three-pointers in a game during Kristy Trn's 10-year career as a head coach.

The aggressive approach and consistent passing helped Shippensburg get assists on seven of their 12 first-half field goals to lead at intermission 38-20. The Lady Raiders also held a 23-15 advantage on the boards in the first half and finished the contest with a 45-34 rebounding edge.

Kutztown (13-4, 3-1 PSAC East), however, came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half and recorded a 17-2 run over the opening 4:53 of the period that brought the score to 40-37. The Lady Raiders committed three turnovers and missed their first eight field-goal attempts during the run while the Golden Bears suddenly got hot and were 6-of-9 during the same stretch.

Despite the Golden Bears creeping within one point of the lead with 6:30 to play, Shippensburg never trailed in the contest and sealed the victory by hitting four consecutive 3-pointers over a four-minute span beginning at the 6:10 mark. The Lady Raiders also converted six free-throw attempts in the final two minutes to clinch the victory.

Sophomore forward Kasey Gardner was a scoring machine for Shippensburg on Saturday, totaling a career-high 28 points. She hit 5-of-8 from beyond the arc while converting 9-of-12 free throw attempts to go along with three assists and two steals.

Junior forward Lauren Beckley, who is now just 29 points behind Melissa Swartz (1993-97) for seventh place among the school's career scoring leaders, finished with her ninth double-double by totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists. She was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and sunk all six of her free-throw attempts. 

Junior guard Michelle Metz was the third Lady Raider in double figures on Saturday, shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and finishing with 14 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.

Freshman point guard Erin Varley earned a start and contributed four assists and five rebounds in 28 minutes, while freshman forward Kaitlin Capriccio played a season-high 31 minutes and delivered three points and six rebounds.

Shippensburg, now in a three-way tie for second-place in the division at 3-1, will hit the road for a two-game trip beginning Wednesday. The Lady Raiders will take on Bloomsburg from Thomas Fieldhouse. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.