The Shippensburg University women's basketball team scored 16 points in the final three minutes on Sunday as it returned to action with a 72-63 victory over the previously-unbeaten University of the Sciences in Philadelphia from Bobby Morgan Arena.
Shippensburg (4-1) built an 11-point lead in the second quarter before Sciences (6-1) rallied with a surge after halftime, using an 18-7 run to eventually take a 43-41 advantage with 3:14 to play in the third quarter. The two teams would continue to exchange short scoring bursts down the stretch, with the Devils holding a 57-56 lead with 2:56 to go.
The Raiders then countered with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a pivotal three-pointer from senior
Colleen Young, to lead 63-57 with 1:07 remaining. SU clinched the victory by making 11-of-12 free throws in the final 67 seconds, with Young rebounding the only Raider miss in that stretch to setup two more successful makes at the line.
Young was one of four Raiders to post double figures on Sunday, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Senior
Logan Snyder was SU's leading scorer with 17 points, including 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. Senior
Lauren Gold had 16 points, making all eight of her free-throw attempts, to complement four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Graduate
Stephanie Knauer had 15 points and six rebounds, while senior
Morgan Griffith scored five points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and had three assists.
Off the bench, junior
Victoria Blackburn scored five points while senior
Haley Scullion scored two points and led the team with four assists.
Sciences had held its opponents to 57 points or less in five straight games before Shippensburg scored a season-high 72 points against it on Sunday. The Devils got 15 points from Sarah Abbonizio and 13 points each from Alex Thomas and reserve Jordan Vitelli.
SU finished 24-of-30 (80 percent) at the free-throw line while Sciences shot 18-of-21 (86 percent). The teams finished within one turnover of each other (SU – 16, Sciences – 17), but the Raiders scored 21 points off turnovers compared to nine for the home team.
Shippensburg returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday vs. UDC from Heiges Field House.
