The Shippensburg University women's basketball team dropped a close game at Millersville on Wednesday night, falling 57-53 to the Marauders in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division showdown at Pucillo Gymnasium.
Shippensburg (3-19, 2-14 PSAC) led 21-13 after one quarter and took a two-point lead into halftime. After a sluggish start to the third quarter by both teams, Millersville (8-13, 6-9) gained a small lead in what became a seesaw battle down the stretch. Overall, the contest featured 12 ties and nine lead changes.
With 3:04 to go, a layup by freshman
Bella Chimienti gave SU a 50-49 lead. Trailing by two with 80 seconds to go, a bucket by graduate
Treasure George evened the score at 53-53. The Marauders countered with a basket on the ensuing possession, and after a timeout, an offensive foul was called on the Raiders. Millersville worked the shot clock to its final seconds and converted a second-chance bucket to go up by four with 11 seconds remaining to clinch the win.
Four Raiders scored eight or more points. George led SU with 14 points, with the majority coming from the free-throw line (8-of-12). She also had eight rebounds. Chimienti was the only Raider to make a three-pointer in the contest; she was 2-of-4 from long range and finished with eight points. Junior
Taja Colbert had nine points to go along with seven rebounds; the point guard has average 6.0 rebounds per game over the last three contests.
Freshman
Alexis Buie was back in the starting lineup and had a noteworthy performance, finishing one point shy of a double-double. In addition to matching her career high of nine points, Buie grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. She also led the team with two blocks and two steals.
Junior
Abbie Miller and sophomore
Ellie Goodwin each finished with two points and five rebounds. Sophomore
Makayla Foddrell and freshman
Mia Johnson combined for nine points.
Millersville got 13 points from Makiah Shaw, including the decisive putback in the final seconds, while La'Shyra Williams had 12 points and eight rebounds. Williams made the bucket that put the 'Ville ahead 55-53 in the final minute. Morgan Mahoney contributed five rebounds, five blocks and three assists; the Marauders finished the night with eight blocks total.
Shippensburg hosts Kutztown at 1 p.m. Saturday at Heiges Field House. The Raiders will be holding their annual alumni game in the morning.
PINK OUT: All fans who wear pink to Saturday's game will receive free admission. The team will be conducting its annual "Think Pink" fund-raiser in support of the fight against breast cancer. A silent auction will be held, with several gift baskets among the items up for bid.
