Gallery: (2-10-2024) 2023-24 Women's Basketball vs. Kutztown
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball delivered a comeback win over Kutztown in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup on Saturday afternoon, 66-57, at Heiges Field House. The Raiders erased an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter and dominated the fourth to come away with the win on Pink Day and Alumni Day.
Shippensburg (4-19, 3-14 PSAC) had four players finish in double figures. Graduate
Treasure George and freshman
Mia Johnson each scored 14 points; Johnson was a huge factor in the fourth, going for nine points in the final frame. Johnson was 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc. It was her third game in double figures and she matched her career high for three-pointers.
George was 7-of-8 from the foul line and added two assists and a block. Overall, the Raiders were a solid 18-of-24 (75 percent) from the free-throw line.
Junior
Taja Colbert scored 12 points with four rebounds and two assists. Freshman
Alexis Buie set a career high with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting; marking her first game in double figures. Buie grabbed seven rebounds and a block on the day. Over the last four games, Buie has scored 35 points (8.8 per game) and grabbed 24 rebounds (6.0 per game).
Sophomore
Ellie Goodwin and junior
Abbie Miller both set a new career high in blocks. Miller blocked three shots and Goodwin blocked two shots. Both Goodwin and Miller grabbed six boards.
Shippensburg outscored Kutztown (12-11, 10-7) 46-28 over the final 20 minutes after trailing 29-20 at the half. The Raiders shot 40 percent on 18-of-52 as a team after shooting 27 percent in the first half. The Golden Bears shot 35 percent on 18-of-52 shooting. SU set a season high with seven blocks.
Goodwin earned a tough basket and drew a foul on the Raiders first possession to open the scoring. The Golden Bears took the next six points to take a 6-3 lead midway through the first. Kutztown stretched its lead to 11-5, but the Raiders finished the quarter with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to one.
A 12-5 start for Kutztown in the first five minutes of the second quarter propelled them to a 23-15 lead, and a nine-point advantage heading into the half.
The Raiders got a burst of momentum in the final three minutes of the third quarter to overcome an 11-point deficit. George slipped a sweet pass to Buie to give SU some life. Baskets by Miller and Johnson, and free throws from Colbert, continued the run. An and-one from Buie capped off the 11-0 run, tying the game at 40-40. The Raiders made big defensive stands late with blocks from Buie and George.
A basket by Buie to start the fourth gave the Raiders its first lead since they led 3-0 to open the game. Both sides traded scores through the first four minutes until consecutive baskets by George and Goodwin gave SU a 50-46 advantage with just under six minutes remaining.
Leading by two, a difficult finish on a driving layup and a step-back three by Johnson stretched the Raiders lead to 57-50. The Raiders went 11-of-14 from the line in the final five minutes to secure the victory.
Kutztown's Sydney Pierson led all scorers in the game with 15 points. Shannon Remolde scored 13 points and Zara Zerman had 12. Olivia Smelas grabbed 13 rebounds for the Golden Bears.
SU travels to Mansfield on Wednesday night for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off at the Marion Decker Gymnasium.
