Juniata Falls 81-60 to Catholic at Home
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College women’s basketball fell at home Wednesday night 81-60 to Catholic University of America in Landmark Conference action. Juniata (9-11, 2-7 Landmark) outrebounded Catholic had three Eagles finish in double-figure points. Catholic improved to 15-4 overall, 8-1 in Landmark play.
By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Jennifer Jones
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College women's basketball fell at home Wednesday night 81-60 to Catholic University of America in Landmark Conference action. Juniata (9-11, 2-7 Landmark) outrebounded Catholic had three Eagles finish in double-figure points. Catholic improved to 15-4 overall, 8-1 in Landmark play.
Junior Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and senior Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) were one rebound away from a double-double. Livoti finished with a team-high 18 points. McDonald put up 10 points, respectively, picked up a team-high four assists, and tied fellow senior Jordan Hileman (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg) with a game-high 34 minutes on the floor.
Freshman Olivia Halfpenny (Mifflin County/McVeytown, Pa.) also put up some numbers. She tied for the game-high of three treys en route to a 15-point performance. She also went a team best 5-for-9 from the floor.
Juniata trailed by as many as 13 in the first half before fighting back. In her first game of the season, sophomore Natalie Hager (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) made her presence felt. The Eagles were down 10 with 6:55 on the clock when Hager hit a jumper in the paint. Catholic responded with a layup and Hager stayed aggressive, making a move in the paint on the Eagles next possession to earn a trip to the free throw line. She hit both and sparked a 6-0 run that pulled Juniata within four (26-22).
Catholic would push the lead back out to seven with 2:35 left in the half and the Eagles spent the next 40 seconds chipping it back down until they trailed by just three (33-30) with less than two minutes on the clock. But the Cardinals used a spark by Jayni Webster to hold Juniata scoreless for the remainder of the half and take the 40-30 lead into the break.
The Eagles would not get closer than 10 points in the second half as Catholic shot 45 percent from the floor. The Cardinals were led by Emily Grabiak who finished with a game-high 24 points and four steals.
Juniata is back in action this Saturday, Feb. 8 at Moravian College. The Greyhounds were the first Landmark game of the season for Juniata. The Eagles fell 71-58 back on December 7, but it's a new ball game this time around. Juniata has a chance to play spoiler as Moravian is currently vying for the top spot in the league with Catholic and Scranton. The Greyhounds are 17-3 overall, 8-1 in the Landmark. They have won nine of their last 10 games, the one loss coming at Catholic.
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