By: By: Bill Morgal, Interim Sports Information Director
INSTITUTE, W.Va. - Senior women's basketball forward
Lauren Beckley became just the ninth player in the history of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) to achieve 2,000 career points on Tuesday afternoon from Fleming Hall but the Lady Raiders dropped their fourth-straight game this season to a WVIAC opponent in a frenzied and physical 87-81 loss to West Virginia State.
Through 95 career games, Beckley has compiled 2,015 points, an average of 21.2 per contest. She is 35 points behind
Ashley Totedo (Swanson) and 42 points behind SU's all-time leading scorer
Stacey Cunningham (Dellinger), a duo that ranks seventh and eighth respectively among the conference's record books.
Shippensburg (5-7) did to the home team on Tuesday what Charleston had done to the Lady Raiders the day before - race out to a blistering offensive start and gain a double-digit halftime lead. SU held a 47-37 lead at intermission by shooting 19-of-29 from the field (65.5 percent) without hitting a three-pointer.
Three players had already reached double figures in scoring by halftime. In addition to Beckley's 15 points, junior forward
Kasey Gardner hit all six of her first-half field goal attempts for 12 points while freshman point guard
Morgan Taylor converted all six of her free-throw attempts and also had 12 points at the break. Sophomore forward
Kaitlin Capriccio contributed eight points and two rebounds in the first half.
With 9:18 remaining in regulation, senior guard
Sheila Wasser sank the team's first three-pointer of the game to extend the second-half lead. A subsequent layup by sophomore forward
Jenn Morrow gave Shippensburg a 15-point lead with 8:48 to play.
West Virginia State (4-4) responded with a frenetic attack and a series of full-court presses that led to a 12-1 run over the next two minutes of play that included back-to-back three-pointers. After a timeout, the Yellowjackets maintained their pressure and officially wrestled the momentum into their favor - converting several fast-break opportunities and taking a 74-71 lead with 3:41 to play.
Gardner sank two free throws on the next possession to get Shippensburg within one point and continued her hustle with a steal and a fast-break layup that put SU back in the lead. The Yellowjackets made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the score at 75-75 and then hit a jumper to take a 77-75 lead. Gardner converted another layup that tied the score at 77-77 but West Virginia State responded with a three-point play.
Trailing 80-77, Gardner grabbed a defensive rebound and sank a free throw to put Shippensburg within two points. The score reached 83-81 with 53 seconds to go and the SU defense forced an initial stop, but West Virginia State grabbed an offensive rebound and sunk a lay-up to build what proved to be an insurmountable lead. The Yellowjackets scored 34 points in the final nine minutes of a game that featured a copious amount of physical play.
Beckley finished with her fourth double-double of the season, totaling 25 points and 10 rebounds to complement two blocks, two steals and an assist. Gardner was 10-of-15 from the field and led Shippensburg with 26 points while grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out five assists and recording two steals. Capriccio tallied nine total points, five rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes of action but was limited by foul trouble.
Shippensburg will continue its nine-game road trip this weekend with mandated PSAC crossovers on Saturday and Sunday. The Lady Raiders will travel to face Mercyhurst at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Slippery Rock at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Notes: The 47 points scored by Shippensburg are its most in one half of play since the team's nationally-televised game last season against East Stroudsburg on January 17 (23 games)...SU scored 48 points in the second half of that game to record a 77-67 victory...the 19 first-half field goals for Shippensburg are the most in one half of play since Jan. 30, 2008, when SU traveled to IUP and beat the Crimson Hawks by 13 points...Beckley also moved into third place on SU's all-time list for career field goals (683), surpassing current head coach Kristy O'Hara (Trn), and career free throws (430), surpassing Janette Pieczynski and Cunningham.
