ST. DAVIDS, Pa.-- For the second time in four days, Eastern
University Women's Basketball faced off against a team in first place in
the Freedom Conference. Led by 26 points from junior guard Shante
Jones, the upstart Eagles completed the improbable double with another
two point win. Today, the Eagles jumped to a 20 point lead in the second
half and held off the Misericordia Cougars 53-51. With the win, the
Eagles (13-8, 5-5) are assured of a winning record for just the third
time in the last 20 years.
The Eagles jumped to a 5-0 lead, but
the Cougars (13-8, 7-3) answered the quick start with a 10-0 run to grab
a 10-5 lead at the 13:36 mark. Courtney Sykes scored five points in the
run for the visitors. Erika Kinney then nailed a three-pointer from the
wing on a kick-out pass from Jones to close the gap to 10-8 with
thirteen minutes to play. First year Head Coach Nate Davis had commented
in yesterday's shoot-around, that Kinney had been hitting shots and
that the reserve guard was likely to hit a big one.
That
three-pointer spared a 21-3 run for the Eagles. Bekah Roland (9 points,
11 rebounds) hit a pair of three-pointers in the run, and Sam Weaver hit
a pair of short jumpers as well. The Cougars scored on a pair of free
throws from Sykes before Katie Lincoln gave the Eagles their biggest
lead of the half on a three-pointer with two minutes to play.
Neither
team scored in the final two minutes and the Eagles took a 29-15 lead
to the locker room. Jones led all scorers with ten points and had four
assists and four steals. Even more impressive, perhaps, was the job she
did in defending Misericordia's Christine Marks in the post. Marks, a
junior, entered the day 17 points shy of the 1000 point mark for her
career. Jones, who does not typically guard post players, spent much of
the half denying the interior pass. Marks scored just a single bucket in
the opening half.
"I think when we played up there," Davis
commented, "we spent too much of our focus on stopping Marks and we let
other people have big days. Today we approached it as an individual
responsibility. Tay [Shante] did a good job on her, but there were times
where are posts had her, and we said whoever had her needed to make it
tough. Jess [Ogden] and Sam [Weaver] also did a good job with her.
Jones
started the second half with five straight points on an inside basket
and a three-pointer, before Marks, who would finish with 14, got on
track with an inside basket. Lincoln put the Eagles up 20on a three
point play, but the first year guard picked up her third foul shortly
after, and the Cougars, behind six straight from Marks, and a Tyann
McDaniel three-pointer pulled to within 11 with thirteen minutes left.
Jones
answered with a strong drive off a good screen from Ogden, but the
Cougars responded with another five point run on a McDaniel triple and
two Marks free throws to close the gap to 39-31 at the midway point of
the second half.
Ogden built the lead back to ten with a nice
finish on screen and roll, but the Eagles went cold from the field and
relied on Jones from the foul line to hold off the Cougars. Misericordia
closed it to a one possession game for the first time with 36 seconds
to play, but Ogden split a pair of free throws and gathered up the
offensive rebound on her miss. She then split another pair to restore the
advantage to five. Marks made an inside shot to close the gap back to
three, but Lori Wileczek split a pair to put the Eagles up four with
just seconds to play.
"We are very much in a day to day mode."
Davis said, "this team is starting to believe, and I think we look at
every game like we can win it. I think Shante is finding ways to
challenge herself, and she is making a big difference. It has been great
to see each of the players begin to believe through this year."
The Eagles return to action at Wilkes this Wednesday.
Box Score
