The Shippensburg University women's basketball team withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally from home-standing Salem on Saturday to come away its second straight victory, defeating the Tigers by a 93-82 score in a non-conference matchup from T. Edward Davis Gymnasium in West Virginia.
 
Shippensburg (8-10) never trailed Saturday but endured a nail-biting finish. SU maintained a large lead for the majority of the contest, establishing a 31-14 lead after the first quarter and a 50-31 halftime advantage after leading by as many as 25 points in the second quarter. Through three quarters, the Raiders led 70-52.
 
Salem (3-13) trailed by 15 points with 6:54 to play before unleashing a 17-4 run over the next 3:00 to make it a two-point game, 78-76. The Tigers scored 16 points off 11 fourth-quarter turnovers by the Raiders to make up ground, but Shippensburg countered with strong free-throw shooting and solid rebounding to clinch the victory. SU closed on an 8-0 run over the final 2:05 to flip a three-point margin into an 11-point victory.
 
Three Raiders posted double-doubles to highlight a plethora of SU career highs. Leading the way once again was sophomore Ariel Jones who finished one assist shy of a triple-double. Jones matched a career high with 36 points, posted 10 rebounds, and had a career-high nine assists. She also set new single-game bests with 18 made free throws and 24 free-throw attempts – the latter being just one shy of equaling Lauren Beckley's single-game record.  
 
Jones made 11-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 7-of-8 in the final 2:12, to help cement the victory. Over the final 20 minutes, Jones shot 5-of-9 from the field and 14-of-18 from the free-throw line. She entered the game averaging 16.6 points in the second half this season, and scored 25 points in the second half on Saturday. In her last four games, Jones is 53-of-61 (86.8 percent) at the free-throw line.
 
Saturday is the 11th game in Jones' career that she has exceeded 30 points – her 36-point effort equals her performance earlier this season at Shepherd and last season at Mercyhurst. Her 10 rebounds resulted in her second career double-double, accompanying a 26-point, 12-rebound performance at Clarion in December. Her nine assists exceed her previous career high by three, and are the most by a Raider since Lauren Gold had 12 on Feb. 3, 2016 against Mansfield.
 
Freshman Lauren Pettis posted her fourth double-double with a career-high 19 points and 16 rebounds – the latter being two short of her single-game best against Seton Hill earlier this season. Pettis was 7-of-10 from the field, scoring 14 of her 19 points in the first half, and equaled a career high with five free throws. It was the sixth time this season that Pettis achieved double-digit rebounds.
 
Sophomore Kryshell Gordy grabbed her third double-double of the season and the seventh of her career with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Gordy was 3-of-5 from the field and 5-of-6 at the free-throw line; she added two assists and two blocks. It was Gordy's seventh game with multiple blocks and her fifth game with double-digit rebounds this season.
 
Freshman Lauren Mills reached double figures for the third time in the last four games and the seventh time overall, totaling 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and equaling a career high with six rebounds. Mills scored eight points in the first quarter but her minutes were later limited due to foul trouble. Her final six points came in the fourth quarter, where she was 3-for-3 from the field.
 
Freshman Margarita Kilpatrick made her first career start, finishing with four points, three rebounds and an assist in 32 minutes.
 
Shippensburg had 50 free-throw attempts on Saturday, marking just the fifth time that has occurred in the nation this season. SU was 33-of-50 (66 percent), but made 13-of-16 (81 percent) in the fourth quarter. The 33 made free-throws are the most since Dec. 17, 2013 at UPJ (37-of-43) and the 50 free-throw attempts are the most since Feb. 20, 2013 at West Chester (41-of-50).   
 
The Raiders equaled a season high with 54 points in the paint. SU is now 6-0 this season when leading at the half. SU's 93 points are a season high and the most since a 94-58 victory over Slippery Rock on Nov. 19, 2016.
 
Saturday was the last non-conference game of the season for the Raiders; the contest filled a void in the schedule created by the departure of Cheyney from the conference.

UP NEXT: Wednesday, 6 p.m. vs. Mansfield.