The Shippensburg University women’s basketball team dropped its final two games of the year and will miss the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs.
The first game was a heartbreaking loss to rival West Chester University at home on Wednesday evening by a score of 69–68.
SU (12-16, 8-12 PSAC) led at halftime by eight points and had the lead several times in the second half. However, the team could only score 25 points in the final two frames, shooting just 27 percent. With the game tied with 1:35 remaining, SU failed to score on three straight possessions.
Freshman Lauren Pettis scored 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, while fellow freshman Lauren Mills scored 10 points along with a pair of three-pointers. Off the bench, freshman Margarita Kilpatrick scored eight points while knocking down two three-pointers.
Sophomore Kryshell Gordy only mustered three points but pulled down an impressive 14 boards, blocked three shots and dished out seven assists. West Chester (15-13, 11-9 PSAC) got a game-high 25 points from Destiny Jefferson.
Shippensburg’s leading scorer, sophomore Ariel Jones, scored 22 points in the contest, marking the 21st time this season she has had 20 or more in a game.
Her two free throws with 33 seconds remaining in the first half put her in first place in single-season PSAC made free throws. Jones has made an average of 8.4 free throws a game.
Lauren Pettis scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds against West Chester.
On Saturday afternoon, the Raiders took on first-place Bloomsburg University, desperately needing a win and an East Stroudsburg University loss in order to make the playoffs. The team fell by a score of 68–63.
In the loss, Jones broke the SU women’s basketball team single-season record for points, passing Tracy Spencer’s record of 670 points set during the 1995-1996 season. Jones tallied 22 points and is now fifth all-time in PSAC single-season history, for scoring, with 690 points.
Freshman Aunbrielle Green posted 21 points in the contest, including 14 in the first quarter, which keyed a strong start for SU. Green shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line and grabbed seven rebounds.
Pettis tallied four points but snatched nine rebounds and blocked a career-high three shots. Gordy and Mills combined for 12 points, with Gordy having eight rebounds and Mills going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
SU shot just 32 percent in the game but hung in due to its efficient free-throw shooting, going 27-for-35 from the line.
Bloomsburg got 15 points and 14 rebounds from Taylor Montana, and on her Senior Night, Alyssa Mack scored 17 points. The Raiders were tied with the Huskies 63–63 with 3:37 remaining in the game, but were again held scoreless down the stretch.
The loss eliminated the Raiders from playoff contention. They will now look toward the offseason and the incoming freshman class to help boost a promising roster for the 2019-20 season.
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