Big Second Half Catapults Royals Past Eagles

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team went cold in the fourth quarter as #15 Scranton pulled away to win 73-51, Saturday afternoon. 

Larissa Leonard (Three Springs, Pa. / Southern Huntingdon) made a three off a pass from Madison Colyer(Newville, Pa. / Big Spring) following a Grace Long (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) offensive rebound to get things started. After forcing a stop, Gracie Stauffer (Loysville, Pa. / West Perry) scored inside while being fouled as her foul shot doubled the lead. The Royals finally got on the board with back to back layups. Cassidy Arnold (York, Pa. / Eastern York HS) scored inside, Scranton drilled a triple and Long found Arnold for another layup as the Eagles led by three midway through the opening period. The Royals took their first lead at 11-10, but Leonard's second three of the quarter off a Megan Haines (Bloomsburg, Pa. / Bloomsburg) assist put JC back in front. Leonard's layup with three seconds to go pushed the Eagle advantage to five heading into the second, 18-13. 

Scranton pulled level with the Eagles at 21-21 a little under three minutes to in the second period. Both defenses locked down at that point, as neither team could find the bottom of the net for nearly three minutes before Mock finding Long for another Juniata three-pointer. The teams traded buckets with Taylor Vrabel (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg), scoring inside twice. Colyer's jumper put Juniata ahead by five with a minute and 50 seconds to go in the half, but Scranton scored the final four points of the half on a jumper and two foul shots as they sliced the Eagle lead to one heading into the locker room at halftime. 

Both offenses started the second strong as the Royals opened with a three, Stauffer scored inside off a pass from Mock and Scranton answered back to back layups of their own. Averie Hess (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) converted a jumper off a feed from Long, but Juniata went scoreless for over three minutes, with a Vrabel layup off a Haines assist making it 44-36. Leonard's foul shots cut the deficit to six, but the Royals quickly responded with five straight points to push their advantage to double digits. Scranton led 51-50 heading into the fourth.

The Royals opened the fourth on a 14-2 run over the first five minutes and cruised the rest of the way.

Juniata held a 30-27 edge on the glass, but Scranton held a 27-10 advantage in points off turnovers and also a 32-16 edge in points in the paint.

The Eagles will travel to Elizabethtown, Wednesday at 7:00.