The Shippensburg University women's basketball team fell to East Stroudsburg in a down-to-the-wire Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division showdown Saturday afternoon at ESU's Koehler Fieldhouse, 54-49.
Shippensburg (8-16, 5-13 PSAC) remained within one possession of East Stroudsburg (11-12, 8-9) from the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter until the final second but was unable to wrestle the lead away from the hosts.
East Stroudsburg trailed the Raiders 42-36 until a critical 11-0 run to begin the fourth quarter put the Warriors in the driver's seat. ESU went 5-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, including four consecutive misses inside the final minute, to leave the door open for a potential SU comeback.
Shippensburg senior
Taja Colbert scored nine of the Raiders 13 first quarter points, and a 12-2 second quarter Shippensburg run provided the Raiders with a 28-24 halftime lead.
Colbert led the Raiders with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. She shot 6-for-13 from the field (56.2 percent) and 6-for-6 from the foul line in the game.
ESU held Shippensburg without a point for the first 6:19 of the fourth quarter, but five straight points from sophomore
Alexis Buie evened the score at 47-47 with 2:56 left on the clock.
The Raiders had two offensive possessions down just three inside the final minute but failed to score.
Sophomore
Bella Chimienti added nine points and two steals. Freshman
Michelle Olak posted six points and four boards, and senior
Abbie Miller registered three steals.
East Stroudsburg center Emily Chimel registered a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The two teams combined for 43 turnovers in Saturday's game. ESU out-rebounded Shippensburg 33-to-22, including an 11-to-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
Shippensburg shot a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line, while ESU converted just 56.7 percent from the charity stripe (17-for-30) in the game.
Shippensburg returns to action Wednesday at Kutztown. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
