Shippensburg tops East Stroudsburg to end regular season

By rscaife
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Updated: February 23, 2017

Courtesy of Shippensburg Athletics

Women’s Basketball Beats East Stroudsburg, 65-59, Finishes PSAC East Schedule Unbeaten
SU becomes first PSAC team in seven years to sweep divisional schedule

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg women’s basketball team rallied from an early double-digit deficit Wednesday to beat East Stroudsburg, 65-59, at Koehler Field House to finish off a 16-0 record in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division play.

SU (23-5, 18-4 PSAC) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half while struggling to score. The Raiders went the final 5:39 of the first quarter without a field goal, but bounced back late to finish the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 35-33 lead into intermission. SU’s lead was cut to one after three quarters, but the Raiders outscored ESU (17-8, 13-8) 18-13 in the fourth quarter to notch their 18th consecutive win.

Graduate Stephanie Knauer (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) led the Raiders with 14 points and five rebounds as she made all six of her free throw attempts. Senior Lauren Gold (Elkins Park, Pa./Abington Friends) knocked down a trio of three-pointers on her way to 13 points.

SU led for much of the fourth quarter until the Warriors completed a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead with 3:36 remaining. However, on the ensuing possession senior Colleen Young (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Archbishop Wood) responded with a game-tying three-pointer. Young turned in her second career double-double as she scored 10 points and tied her career high with 10 rebounds in a team-high 39 minutes.

Following Young’s triple, the Raiders forced an ESU turnover and took the lead for good when Gold made a three-pointer at the other end. SU went on to finish the game on an 11-2 run.

Senior Logan Snyder (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists to the SU cause as the Raiders worked through its worst shooting night since the first game of the season, against UVA-Wise. The Raiders shot just 37 percent from the field, but made 21-of-24 free throw attempts. Senior Morgan Griffith (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) scored seven rebounds and tied a team high with 10 rebounds as SU outrebounded the Warriors, 40-25.

By finishing 16-0 in PSAC East play, SU becomes the first team to put together a perfect divisional schedule since Gannon achieved the feat in 2009-10. The win also means that both the SU men and women’s teams have had 18-game winning streaks this season as the Raider men began their 2016-17 campaign 18-0. SU becomes the first school since Cheyney in 1981-1982 to have both men and women’s teams achieve 18-game winning streaks in the same season.