SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball team could not recover from a slow start on Tuesday night as it dropped a non-conference matchup to Jefferson, a 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifier, by a score of 78-64 from inside Heiges Field House.

Shippensburg (1-2) fell behind 47-19 at the half to Jefferson (5-0), as the Rams out-scored the Raiders 21-11 in the first quarter and 26-8 in the second quarter. SU committed 14 first-half turnovers and shot just 29 percent from the field in and 42 percent at the free-throw line.
 
The Raiders improved their performance in the second half, as three players finished in double figures. Freshman Lauren Pettis was 7-of-7 from the field for 14 points while adding five rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Kryshell Gordy finished with her second-straight double-double, totaling 17 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Sophomore Ariel Jones scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half. Jones added five rebounds and five assists; she missed much of the second quarter due to foul trouble.
 
Overall, the Raiders shot 44 percent from the field but hit just 1-of-9 from three-point range. The visitors built their sizable advantage on the strength of a second quarter in which they shot 5-of-8 from three-point range. Jefferson also converted 19-of-23 (83 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
Jessica Kaminski paced the Rams with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting to complement eight rebounds and seven assists. Center Beverly Kum had a near double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds.
 
UP NEXT: Sunday, 2 p.m. vs. West Virginia Wesleyan.