College Basketball: Lady Raiders fall in crucial game
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Article RatingClarion womens’ basketball player Katrina Greer couldn’t have put Saturday’s game against Shippensburg any better when she said, “Every play, every shot, every free throw and every defensive possession counted tonight.”
Both ballcubs came into Saturday afternoon’s contest with identical 5-3 records in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division; needless to say, emotions were high in this late-season matchup.
“I’m speechless about how well this game was played,” Greer said. “It was a great game to watch and play, a tough game to lose and a great game to win.”
Regulation was not enough for the victor to be determined: thanks to a pair of game-tying free throws from Greer with two seconds remaining, Clarion (16-7, 6-3 PSAC West) was able to send the game into overtime and outlast the Lady Raiders (17-7, 5-4 PSAC West) by a score of 88-81.
In a game where the score was tied nine times and saw eight lead changes, there were enough eye-popping stats and game-changing plays to fill a five-page college essay, so we’ll stick to the two most important stats of the game:
•Clarion, the best free-throw shooting team in the PSAC, was 34 of 37 (92%) from the charity stripe. If the Golden Eagles missed just one more foul shot, they probably would’ve lost.
•Shippensburg’s Lauren Beckley picked her team up and carried it on her back, posting another monstrous game with 32 points and 18 rebounds. Whenever Beckley wasn’t on the floor, it was clear that Clarion was the better team.
Which brings us to the final play of regulation, with the Golden Eagles trailing 71-69 with 12.6 seconds remaining. Clarion’s Janelle Zabresky (15 points, 13 rebounds) missed an inside shot, but Greer (14 points) was there for the offensive rebound.
Greer went up for the shot and was fouled by Beckley, who picked up her fifth foul, sending her to the bench for the remainder of the game.
“It was a questionable call at best, that girl jumped into Beckley,” Shippensburg coach Kristy Trn said. “I’m probably going to get in trouble for saying that, but that’s what happened.”
Greer knew that if she could hit both of her free throws, her team would head to overtime against the Beckley-less Lady Raiders.
“Beckley is an outstanding player,” Greer said. “Her not being in the game would play to our advantage.”
Greer’s first shot found its way into the bucket.
“My heart was beating so fast, but I couldn’t hear a thing,” Greer said. “My coach and my teammates have confidence in me and I wasn’t about to let them down.”
Greer’s second shot swished into the bucket — the game was going into overtime.
Greer said, “Beckley being out of the game was a confidence-booster for us.”
A short-jumper from My’Kea Cohill (20 points) gave Clarion a 75-73 lead early in overtime and sparked a 15-5 game-ending run that sent depleted Shippensburg, worn down from a recent five-game road trip, into the loss column.
“Our schedule has not been kind to us with five straight road games,” Trn said. “We have three games left on our regular-season schedule. We’re going to take it one game at a time and see what we can do.”
The Lady Raiders are back in action on Wednesday night, when they travel to California (Pa.) for a crucial 6 p.m. matchup.
Notes: Shippensburg’s Kasey Gardner (19 points) and Megan Fogle (18) also scored in double-digits ... Clarion saw six of its players — Jessica Albanese (16 points, 10 rebounds), Sara Pratt (11 points), Cohill, Greer, Shaina Smith (10 points) and Zabresky — score in double-figures ... All fans in attendance of Saturday’s game were encouraged to wear pink as Shippensburg participated in the “Think Pink” initiative to recognize breast cancer awareness — Shippensburg raised $1,543 for the Kay Yow/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Cancer Fund. Clarion, however, may have been thinking red. “Nobody ever talks about Clarion and that hasn’t sat well with us,” Greer said. “By winning this game, we proved that we belong out there and deserve to be in the playoffs.”
Wednesday
Shippensburg 76, Lock Haven 69
Lauren Beckley keeps on breaking those records.
Beckley broke Shippensburg’s single-game scoring record by posting 47 points, 30 of which came in the second half, in her team’s victory over Lock Haven.
Beckley’s 47 points broke a 15-year-old school record held by current head coach Kristy Trn, who registered 45 points against Cheyney on Feb. 11, 1993. Beckley was one point shy of the all-time PSAC womens’ record for points in a game, set by Terri Gunder of Millersville vs. Rowan in 1971 and is now tied for second all-time in PSAC history with Jane Moffett of East Stroudsburg, who also had 47 points against New York University in 1951.
In a game where the lead changed 12 times, Beckley scored seven of her team’s final 10 points to knock off the Bald Eagles (7-15, 2-5 PSAC West).
GOLDEN EAGLES 88, LADY RAIDERS 81 (OT)
Clarion 32 39 17 — 88
Shippensburg 37 34 10 — 81
CLARION (88)
Jessica Albanese 4-11 8-8 16; Sara Pratt 2-7 7-9 11; My’Kea Cohill 5-18 8-8 20; Ashley Grimm 1-4 0-0 2; Katrina Greer 3-9 8-8 14; Shaina Smith 4-9 0-0 10; Bethany Koch 0-1 0-0 0; Sarah Fries 0-0 0-0 0; Lizzie Suwala 0-2 0-0 0; Janelle Zabresky 6-11 3-4 15. TOTALS 25-72 34-37 88.
SHIPPENSBURG (81)
Kasey Gardner 8-17 1-1 19; Elise Mercer 0-3 0-0 0; Lauren Beckley 9-16 12-15 32; Michelle Metz 0-1 2-2 2; Megan Fogle 5-16 7-8 18; Phylicia Bessick 3-8 0-0 7; Natalie Monroig 0-0 0-0 0; Chrissy Minnick 1-1 1-2 3. TOTALS 26-62 23-28 81.
3-point goals: Clarion 4-17 (Smith 2-5, Cohill 2-6, Koch 0-1, Grimm 0-2, Greer 0-3); Ship 6-14 (Beckley 2-4, Gardner 2-4, Bessick 1-2, Fogle 1-4). Rebounds: Clarion 45 (Zabresky 13, Albanese 10); Ship 42 (Beckley 18). Assists: Clarion 17 (Grimm 6); Ship 17 (Metz 6). Steals: Clarion 8 (Cohill 3); Ship 4 (Bessick 2). Blocks: Clarion 4 (Zabresky 2); Ship 2 (Garnder, Beckley). Turnovers: Clarion 10; Ship 18. Team fouls: Clarion 23; Ship 28. Fouled out: Pratt; Beckley.
FEB. 13
LADY RAIDERS 76, BALD EAGLES 69
Shippensburg 33 43 — 76
Lock Haven 31 38 — 69
SHIPPENSBURG (76)
Kasey Gardner 2-6 2-3 7; Elise Mercer 0-3 0-1 0; Lauren Beckley 15-22 12-15 47; Michelle Metz 3-7 1-2 8; Megan Fogle 2-6 3-5 7; Phylicia Bessick 2-4 1-2 5; Chrissy Minnick 1-4 0-0 2. TOTALS 25-52 19-28 76.
LOCK HAVEN (69)
Kristin Kudrick 6-13 2-4 15; Marisa Elliott 5-11 3-4 14; Lauren Kelshaw 5-17 4-5 15; Michelle Mitchell 1-4 0-0 2; Casi Donelan 0-1 2-2 2; Malika Miller 2-5 0-1 4; Aiesha Smith 3-5 4-4 11; Katie Kendall 0-0 0-0 0; Evelyn Wynn 3-3 0-0 6. TOTALS 25-59 15-20 69.
3-point goals: Ship 7-15 (Beckley 5-9, Gardner 1-2, Metz 1-2, Fogle 0-1, Bessick 0-1); LHU 4-15 (Kudrick 1-1, Smith 1-1, Elliott 1-2, Kelshaw 1-8, Mitchell 0-1, Miller 0-2). Rebounds: Ship 37 (Beckley 11); LHU 30 (Kelshaw 9). Assists: Ship 7 (Metz 6); LHU 8 (Kudrick 4). Steals: Ship 8 (Fogle 4); LHU 14 (Elliott 3, Kelshaw 3, Miller 3). Blocks: Ship 0; LHU 1 (Kudrick). Turnovers: Ship 20; LHU 16. Team fouls: Ship 15; LHU 22. Fouled out: Kudrick.
