The Shippensburg University women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit on Wednesday night to get within one possession of host Pitt-Johnstown in the fourth quarter, but its comeback bid came up short as the Raiders dropped a 71-61 decision to the host Mountain Cats in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover matchup at Sports Center.
Shippensburg (1-11, 0-6 PSAC) fell behind 16-4 after the opening 6:22 of the contest but got within five points of Pitt-Johnstown (9-3, 4-2), 28-23, with 3:53 left in the second quarter. The hosts led 35-27 at the half.
The second half featured an exchange of scoring runs. After UPJ opened the second half with a bucket to stretch its lead to double digits, Shippensburg countered with an 8-0 run over the next 2:18 to make the score 37-35 and force a Mountain Cat timeout. Pitt-Johnstown countered with a 14-3 run over the next 6:16 to lead 53-42 after three quarters.
The Raiders had one more run in them. With 3:45 left, an and-one layup by graduate
Treasure George preceded a UPJ offensive foul on an illegal screen. Freshman
Bella Chimienti then converted a second-chance jumper to make it 59-57 – putting the Raiders within two points with 2:56 to go.
On the ensuing possession, Cassidy Crawford banked home a three-pointer late in the Mountain Cat possession to stifle the Raider run, starting a 7-0 run down the stretch for the hosts that proved insurmountable.
Pitt-Johnstown entered Wednesday night's game as the conference's leader in three-point accuracy (40.2 percent) and three-pointers made (8.0 per game) and affirmed that statistic in the first half – making 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from long range. Peyton Alazaus was 4-of-6 from three-point range in the first half; she and Olivia Fasick combined for 25 of UPJ's 35 first-half points.
Shippensburg limited the Mountain Cats to 2-of-9 (22 percent) from three-point range in the second half, aiding the Raider rally. It ended up being UPJ's free-throw shooting that clinched the victory. The Mountain Cats missed their only free-throw attempt of the first half but made 18-of-19 free-throw attempts (94.7 percent) in the second half, including 11-of-12 in the fourth quarter.
Junior
Abbie Miller paced the Raiders with 15 points and finished one rebound short of a double-double. Miller's 15 points are three shy of her season high and marked her fourth double-digit scoring game of the season.
Chimienti contributed nine points on an efficient 4-of-9 shooting and dished out a career-high five assists. George finished with 13 points and five rebounds for her 40th career game in double figures. Junior
Taja Colbert was limited to four points but recorded a career-high seven rebounds.
In the post, senior
Carolina Rodriguez Sanchez contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three steals. Off the bench, freshman
Alexis Buie scored eight points, one point shy of her career high. Buie was 3-of-3 from the field and made both of her free-throw attempts.
Shippensburg entered Wednesday having allowed only one opposing player to score 20 points in a game this season – Edinboro's Hayley Sims (20 points in SU's last outing). The Mountain Cats, however, got a combined 44 points from Alazaus (23 points) and Crawford (21 points), while Fasick scored 12 points (11 in the first half). Crawford did not miss in the second half, scoring 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting (the banked three-pointer being the only long-range attempt) and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line.
The Raiders scored 16 points in the second half off 11 Mountain Cat turnovers and finished the game equaling a season high as a team with nine steals. SU out-rebounded UPJ, 40-34, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds, and scored 12 second-chance points.
Shippensburg returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bloomsburg.
