SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg University women's basketball team came up with clutch plays on both ends of the floor to fuel a fourth-quarter comeback victory over the East Stroudsburg Warriors Wednesday in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action at Heiges Field House, 70-69.
 
Shippensburg (7-9, 4-6 PSAC) stormed back from an 11-point second half deficit to take the lead with 2:28 remaining in regulation. The Raiders shot 53.6% percent from the field in the second half and 57.1% in the fourth quarter to fuel the comeback. Senior guard Taja Colbert, playing in her 100th game for Shippensburg, registered her second career-high scoring output in as many outings, posting 23 points on 69 percent shooting (9-of-13). Twelve of Colbert's points came after halftime.
 
Freshman forward Michelle Olak also matched her career-high point total with 14 points on 83.3 percent shooting (5-of-6) off the bench.
 
East Stroudsburg (6-9, 3-6) did its best to hold off the hard-charging Raiders down the stretch thanks to the inside-outside duo of forward Emily Chimel and guard Brie Droege. Chimel and Droege combined for 46 points – two-thirds of the Warriors' total scoring. Droege netted a team-high 23 points on 69 percent shooting (9-of-13), while Chimel contributed 22 points and nine boards.
  
SU initially fell behind thanks to a 7-minute, 45-second scoring drought that lasted until the 6:38 mark of the second period. The resulting 10-0 ESU run was halted by a three-point jumper from Colbert, but momentum stayed on the side of the visitors, as they were able to extend their first-half advantage to as many as 12 points.
 
Sophomore Mia Johnson beat the shot clock buzzer with a deep trey inside the final minute of the second quarter to stem the tide, and the visitors took a seven-point advantage into intermission, 35-28.
 
SU trimmed the deficit to three points on three different occasions early in the third quarter. Colbert later matched her career high in three-point makes with her third trey at the 1:15 mark of the frame, though ESU was able to maintain an eight-point cushion, 52-44, heading into the final ten minutes.
 
SU continued to chip away in the fourth quarter and began to finally cut into the deficit, evening the score at 60-60 on a free throw by sophomore Bella Chimienti with 3:38 remaining.
 
The Raiders came through with a couple of big stops defensively to pull ahead late. Senior Abbie Miller drew a charge on ESU's Jessica Polin, and Chimienti then converted a driving layup to give the hosts their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
 
Another SU stop, this time a clutch block from junior Makayla Foddrell, led to another Chimienti basket to make it 66-62 with a little over a minute remaining.
 
After ESU answered, Colbert went to the line and sank a pair of clutch free throws with eight seconds left on the clock to seal the Raider victory.
 
Colbert's 23 points eclipsed her previous career high of 21 points, which she set Saturday at Mansfield.
 
Chimienti was the third Raider to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-9 from the field.
 
Colbert and Chimienti both finished with three assists and two steals.
 
Johnson totaled nine points and matched her career high with four assists. Miller added eight points, while Olak posted a team-high seven rebounds, one off her career best.
 
Up next, the Raiders travel to West Chester Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip.