Blue Jays Pull Away From Eagles in Second Half
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team faded away after holding a 17-14 first-quarter lead, eventually falling 74-50 to Elizabethtown on Wednesday night.
Bri Bodtorf led the Juniata offense with 13 points, going 5-for-5 at the stripe, while she also led Juniata with four steals. Haily Sherman also struck for double digits with ten points and six rebounds. Kynnedy Miller led the Eagles with seven rebounds and two assists, while Emelie Nonemaker led bench points with eight, going three-for-four from the field.
A layup and a pull-up jump shot got the Blue Jays ahead by four in the first two minutes before Bodtorf drove into the paint from the left side, drew the foul on the layup, and converted the and-one to get back within a point. A Steph Emert rebound and short-range jump shot on the next Eagles possession put Juniata ahead for the first time of the night. The Eagles pushed the run to seven when Sherman was able to draw a foul and convert both free throws for a 7-4 lead through the opening five minutes.
Juniata answered immediately back following an Etown layup, with Dani Scipioni rebounding a three-point shot off the rim for a layup. The Blue Jays made use of back-to-back steals that were converted into layups on both occasions to retain the lead at 10-9, pushing out to 12-9 with another layup a possession later.
Layups from Sherman and Bodtorf, who converted an and-one once again, put Juniata back ahead, while Sherman cemented a first-quarter lead with a left-wing three-pointer, putting the Eagles ahead 17-14.
The Blue Jays again struck first with layups on their first two possessions to retake the lead, as Juniata was unable to get threes to fall on their first two. A Bodtorf drive into the paint and layoff with her left hand put Juniata back ahead 19-18, but it was the last lead they'd hold in the contest.
Etown swiftly answered back with a three-pointer, layup, and jump shot over the next two points for a 25-19 lead. Laney Gerdich broke the run with a layup off her rebound, but the Blue Jays pieced together a layup and another three that put them up 30-21 with 1:46 on the clock.
Juniata was able to close down the halftime gap, as Miller spotted Emily McCann open on the left wing for a three-pointer, and Olivia Berg drove into the paint for a buzzer-beating layup and a 32-27 gap at the break.
The Blue Jays efficiently quelled the chances of a comeback in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 23-4. Following a Sarah Betts layup to open the scoring, Etown went on an 11-0 run over the next five minutes. Interrupted only by another Betts layup, the Blue Jays then ended the quarter with a 12-point unanswered run.
A back-and-forth fourth quarter saw each team post 19 points. Nonemaker led the way for Juniata in the fourth with six points and a steal.
The Juniata women's basketball team will host Wilkes on Saturday at 4:00 pm.