The Shippensburg University women's basketball team rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half on Saturday to sneak past first-place East Stroudsburg, 70-68, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup from Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
Shippensburg (9-6, 6-3 PSAC) out-scored East Stroudsburg (10-5, 6-3) by a 28-17 margin in the fourth quarter. Trailing by nine points entering the final frame, a 7-0 run early in the fourth got the Raiders within three points of the lead, 53-50, with 7:37 left. Trailing by three points with 3:57 remaining, an 8-0 run put SU up by five points entering the final 90 seconds.
 
It was a rather frantic final minute, with the lead changing hands twice. SU made 1-of-2 free throws with 31 seconds left to hold a four-point lead. A three-pointer by ESU got the hosts within one point, but a Raider back-court violation off the ensuing in-bounds pass gave the ball to the Warriors with 20 seconds remaining. A foul resulted in a pair of free throws, and a one-point lead for East Stroudsburg.
 
On the next possession, junior Destiny Jefferson hit a driving layup to put the Raiders back up by one point with 11 seconds left. On ESU's ensuing inbound, a long pass was intercepted by Shippensburg, and junior Ariel Jones made 1-of-2 free throws after the hosts committed a foul.
 
Needing to go the length of the floor off their final inbound, ESU crossed midcourt when Jones knocked the ball loose. ESU's Abbie Schoffstall grabbed the ball and put up a three-pointer with one second left that was no good, giving the win to the Raiders.
 
Jefferson scored 25 points for the second consecutive game to lead all players. She equaled a career high with 10 free throws, finishing 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. She also grabbed nine rebounds and had three assists.
 
Jones finished with 21 points, making 9-of-13 at the free-throw line, to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
 
Sophomore Aunbrielle Green was excellent, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 11 rebounds to achieve her third double-double of the season and the ninth of her career. Sophomore Lauren Mills had four points and eight rebounds in the first half; she finished by equaling her career high of nine rebounds.
 
After shooting 24 percent in the first half, Shippensburg shot 52.9 percent in the second half. The Raiders held ESU to 36 percent shooting overall despite the Warriors going 11-of-17 (65 percent) from the field in the third quarter. Shippensburg also finished with a 47-37 edge in rebounds and scored 42 points in the paint.
 
SU moves into a tie for first place in the division with East Stroudsburg and Kutztown. All three teams have a 6-3 conference record.
 
Shippensburg returns home Wednesday to host Bloomsburg at 6 p.m. from Heiges Field House.