By: By Kevin Kline, Sports Information Graduate Assistant
Box Score
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – A trio of Raiders scored in double figures on Wednesday night in a pivotal battle of two teams tied atop the PSAC Eastern Division from Heiges Field House, but the Shippensburg University women's basketball team was unable to overcome a late Bloomsburg run in a 66-58 loss to the Huskies that featured a total of 14 lead changes.
With the loss, the Raiders (16-7, 12-6 PSAC) fall into third place in the division behind Bloomsburg (17-5, 13-5) and Millersville, which won at Cheyney on Wednesday night. SU is one game ahead of Kutztown and two ahead of West Chester with four conference games left.
Senior
Dana Wert (game-high four steals) and junior
Sarah Strybuc (five rebounds) each scored 15 points and, along with senior
Shawna Wert, tied for the team lead with three assists.
Freshman
Alex Gildea played a career-high 27 minutes off the bench while netting a career-best 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. She recorded a career-high two steals for the second consecutive game.
Down 7-6 five minutes into the contest, Strybuc sank a three-pointer to spark a 9-0 Raiders run that put SU up 15-7 midway through the half. Bloomsburg answered with a 10-2 run of its own, however, that knotted the game at 17-17 at the 6:53 mark. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the half as Bloomsburg entered halftime with a 27-26 lead.
The Huskies opened the second half on a 7-0 run and with Shippensburg down seven, 39-32, just over five minutes into the half, the Raiders used a 13-2 run – that included three-pointers from
Dana Wert, Gildea and Strybuc – to storm back and grab a 45-41 lead with under 10 minutes left.
Bloomsburg fought back and grabbed the lead on two separate occasions on three-pointers from Catherine Noack (12 points) and Dana Wieller (game-high 16 points). Up three with four minutes left, the Huskies used a 15-6 run to take control with a double-digit lead in the final minute.
The Raiders host East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. for their annual “Play 4 Kay” game.
