Eagles Rally Comes Up Short Against #19 Bullets On Day One of the Lebanon Valley College Tip-Off

ANNVILLE, Pa.-The Juniata women's basketball team couldn't quite complete the comeback against #19 Gettysburg as they lost, 73-66, Saturday night at Sorrentino Gymnasium. 

The opening minutes of the game were marred by turnovers for the Eagles as the Bullets opened up a 9-3 lead in the opening five minutes. Cassie Mock (Martinsburg, Pa. / Central Martinsburg) split a pair of foul shots and Gracie Stauffer (Loysville, Pa. / West Perry) scored inside for Juniata. Taylor Vrabel (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg) sunk a jumper off a pass from Stauffer and Mock made a pair of foul shots to pull the Eagles within six, 13-7. Mock followed with a three off a feed from Megan Haines (Bloomsburg, Pa. / Bloomsburg). Juniata were down by three 13-10 after the first quarter. 

Kaeana Rebert (Hanover, Pa. / South Western) connected from deep to tie things at 13, but the Bullets scored the next six points to go back ahead before Grace Long (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) halved the deficit with another JC three off an assist from Vrabel. The Eagles had another scoring drought that last three minutes before Mock grabbed an offensive rebound and scored inside to make it 25-18. With just over a minute remaining Long found Stauffer inside for two to make it 26-20. Juniata went into the locker room down seven, 28-21.  

On the opening possession of the third quarter, Long grabbed an offensive rebound and Rebert took advantage of the second possession, converting a jumper of a pass from Mock. She struck again following a Gettysburg bucket, off a pass from Vrabel to make it 30-25. The Bullets ramped things up on both sides of the ball as they went on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 46-25 lead. Rebert scored her sixth points of the quarter to get Juniata on the board. Madison Colyer (Newville, Pa. / Big Spring) scored on a midrange jumper and Haines sunk a three off a pass from Long to make it 48-32. Back to back Colyer layups, the second one a three-point play the old-fashioned way pulled Juniata within 13, 50-37.  The teams traded buckets one last time before the horn sounded, with Kymiah Carpenter (Baltimore, Md. / Gerstell Academy) finding Stauffer for another layup to make it 52-39 heading into the fourth.  

Gettysburg led by as many as 16 early in the fourth, but the Eagles continued to chip away at the lead. with a little under four minutes to go in the game, Rebert scored inside while being fouled and converted the foul shot to make it 65-58. Colyer stole the ball and took it the other way, scoring via layup to make it 65-60. Stauffer capped the run with her own and-one to make it 65-63 with a little over three minutes left in the contest. Each team split a pair of free throws to make it 64-66. The Bullets scored inside, but the Eagles had an answer as Stauffer grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it back in to cut the deficit back to two. Juniata called timeout, but the Bullets made a three on their next possession and JC couldn't score the rest of the way as they wound up falling 73-66. 

Juniata returns to action tomorrow against Bryn Athyn at noon.