WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After trailing by as many as 15 at the halftime break and 18 early in the second half, West Chester (7-16, 5-12) stormed back in the second half and nearly tied the game in the waning moments of regulation but Shippensburg (15-10, 11-8) salted the game away from the line to escape Hollinger with a 71-64 victory.
In the second half, West Chester outscored Shippensburg 39-31 led by an 18-point effort from
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) as she ended the game shooting 8-of-17 from the field and 3-for-11 from three-point territory to nearly erase the deficit and bring West Chester all the way back. Shippensburg encountered tough times from the field in the second half, making just three field goals in the third period and six in the fourth, which allowed West Chester to fight its way back into the game, eventually trailing by just three points (67-64) with under one minute to play. Following a late timeout with under 40 seconds to play, West Chester had back-to-back looks from three following an offensive rebound after the first miss, but was unable to connect, as the Golden Rams were held scoreless over the last 1:07 of regulation, allowing Shippensburg to escape with a narrow seven-point victory.
Shippensburg opened the game on a 10-2 run taking a commanding eight-point lead with 5:33 to play in the first quarter. West Chester closed the quarter on a 10-4 run of its own to cut the deficit to just four points (16-12) heading into the second quarter of play.
In the second quarter, Shippensburg turned in another strong performance, stretching its lead to as many as 15 points, carrying a 40-25 lead into the halftime break.
In the first quarter,
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) tied for the game-high in scoring with 10 points and six rebounds while Aunbrielle Green turned in 10 points of her own in addition to Lauren Mills seven points and six rebounds to help the visiting Raiders out to an early lead.
In the first half, West Chester shot just 33.3 % from the field and 10.0 % from beyond the arc while Shippensburg shot 44.4 % from the field and 20.0 % from deep while also shooting 88.2 % (15-of-17) from the line to open the contest.
After Shippensburg stretched its lead to 18 points early in the second half (47-29), West Chester began its comeback, going on a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to trim the deficit to 47-39 thanks in large part to eight points from Abbonizio. Shippensburg broke its cold-shooting spell with its first made field goal in over four minutes when Aunbrielle Green hit a layup to take a 50-39 lead with 3:42 to play. In the closing moments of the quarter, West Chester and Shippensburg traded makes as the Raiders carried a 55-46 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, West Chester continued its comeback effort scoring five of the first seven points of the frame in the first minute of play to make the score 57-51 in favor of Shippensburg before the Raiders stretched the lead to 65-53 with 6:31 to play, which would be their largest lead of the period. West Chester started its comeback in earnest, holding Shippensburg to just two points over the next five and a half minutes, trimming the lead to 67-64 before Shippensburg closed the game out on a 7-0 run.
Abbonizio tied for the game lead in scoring with 22 points while Johnson registered her eighth double-double of the year with 19 points and 12 rebounds along with a game-high eight assists and five steals in the setback.
Green led Shippensburg in scoring with 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting while
Destiny Jefferson added 18 of her own along with 11 from Lauren Mills to lead the Raiders to the victory.
West Chester ended the game shooting just 36.0 % (27-of-75) from the field and 20.0 % (5-of-25) from three-point range while also ending the game with a 62.5 % (5-of-8) from the line while Shippensburg shot 43.8 % from the field and 40.0 % from deep while also shooting 80.6 % (25-of-31) from the line in what was a key factor in the Raiders victory.
West Chester ended the game with a slim 42-37 edge in rebounding and a corresponding 8-4 lead in second-chance points while also ending the game with a 19-13 lead in fast break points. The West Chester bench was effective once again, outscoring Shippensburg's bench 15-7 in the setback.
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday evening vs Kutztown beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the third and final game of the three-game homestand.
