Juniata’s 17 game winning streak comes to an end with championship loss

HUNTINGDON, PA. -  Juniata women's basketball gave up a 79-69 loss to Catholic University of America Saturday afternoon in the 2012 Landmark Conference Tournament championship game in Kennedy S+RC.

The Eagles' who haven't given up a Landmark game all season couldn't seem to recover after falling behind from the get-go. The Cardinals sunk 10 points in 3:30 to start the game while Juniata only managed four, a junior Natalie Glinsky (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) jumper and sophomore Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) layup. 

At the half Juniata  (25-2, 14-0 Landmark) was trailing 42-31, an 11-point deficit, three points less than what Catholic led by at half when Juniata defeated them 55-52 in early February at Kennedy S+RC.

Throughout the second stanza the Eagles worked tirelessly to bring the game within reach, and finally did with a 7-0 run on Catholic (22-5, 11-3 Landmark) jump-started by a Glinsky three. Senior Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic) sunk a layup to bring the game to within five, and a pair of McDonald free throws with 3:16 left on the clock made it a one possession game with a 72-67 score. 

However Catholic managed to rebound and didn't let the game slip away like they had the last time they traveled to Huntingdon. The Cardinals drained seven free throws in the last two minutes of the contest to push them over the top and grab the title. 

McDonald finished with an incredible 18 points and 16 rebounds, the most boards ever pulled down in a Landmark Conference Tournament game. Glinsky and Bankos each contributed 13 points, while senior Meagan Raville (McSherrystown, Pa./Delone Catholic) logged 11, including three treys. Glinsky also had a great performance from 3-point range as she also sunk all three of her 3-point attempts.

Juniata finished shooting at 34.8% from the field while Catholic drained 51.8% of its shots. Catholic also managed to outrebound the Eagles 45-36.

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