The Shippensburg University women's basketball team put forth a valiant effort Wednesday night at West Chester but could not get past the Golden Rams, dropping a 64-59 decision in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at Hollinger Fieldhouse.
Shippensburg (5-21, 4-16 PSAC East) went into the locker room at halftime with a 28-27 advantage after a strong first two quarters. Freshman
Mia Johnson hit a long three-pointer just before the second-quarter buzzer and was fouled on the play – her made free throw capped the four-point play and gave the Raiders the one-point lead.
Junior
Abbie Miller and freshman
Bella Chimienti knocked down the first two baskets of the third quarter to run the SU lead up to five, but West Chester (20-5, 15-4) used a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter to flip the game and take a 32-37 lead. The Raiders stuck close and finished the third quarter only down 45-42.
Shippensburg still trailed by just three points midway through the fourth quarter. A 5-0 run by the Golden Rams with just under four minutes to play gave WCU an eight-point advantage, and the Golden Rams knocked down 6-of-8 free throws to close out a tight battle. SU only had two free-throw attempts for the rest of the game after Johnson's free throw on the four-point play – they were a pair of free throws by graduate
Treasure George with seven seconds left.
SU out-rebounded WCU 35-20 and shot a season-high 48.9 percent from the field but could not overcome 28 turnovers. George paced the Raiders with 16 points and dished out seven assists – one short of her career high. Junior
Taja Colbert scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and had four assists.
Chimienti exceeded her career high in rebounds by four – totaling 11 boards to lead all players. She also had three assists and three steals. Freshman
Alexis Buie finished with six points and five rebounds.
Emily McAteer was the force for the Golden Rams, totaling 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. McAteer added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Dynamic point guard Leah Johnson had another excellent game with 15 points and 11 assists.
SU travels to Lock Haven on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest at Thomas Fieldhouse.
