Box
Score
Huntingdon, Pa. - Juniata
College overcame a 37-29 halftime deficit to capture a 65-62
victory over the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's basketball
team in the first day of action at the Juniata Holiday Invitational
Saturday evening.
St. Mary's (2-8) knotted the contest at 62-62 following a layup
by junior guard Jamie Roberts (Rockville, Md./The
Barrie School) with 55 seconds left in regulation. However,
senior forward Kelly Rotan (Atco, N.J./Hammonton)
swished her third three-pointer (and eventual game-winning shot) of
the evening at 00:23 leading to a Seahawk timeout with 12 ticks on
the clock. The Seahawks attempted to force overtime but
junior guard Megan Seeman's (Frederick,
Md./Linganore) three-point shot at the buzzer was off the mark.
Juniata (6-5) will take on Manhattanville College, a 76-64
winner over Cabrini College, in tomorrow's championship match-up at
3:00 pm while the Seahawks will square off against Cabrini in the
consolation game at 1:00 pm.
Junior forward Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg,
Pa./Trinity) paced the Eagles with 17 points and six rebounds while
Rotan finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-5
shooting, including 3-of-3 from downtown.
Both teams struggled in the first four minutes of the contest,
combining for a 0-of-9 effort from the floor and six
turnovers. Sophomore guard Ashton Bankos
(York, Pa./York Catholic) finally broke the scoreless draw as
Bankos went 1-of-2 from the free throw line for
Juniata's only lead of the first half at 15:58.
Freshman guard Pui Sham (Springfield, Va./W.
Springfield) put St. Mary's on the scoreboard just 17 seconds later
with a jumper and the visitors never looked back as the Seahawks
shot 68.2% from the floor, leading by as many as 13 (19-6 at
10:36). Sham's three-pointer at the sound of
the first-half horn solidified her team's 37-29 halftime lead.
The Seahawks dominated the glass, outrebounding Juniata, 42-22,
as seniors Stephanie Saint-Aubin (Bowie,
Md./Elizabeth Seton) and Alex Wenger (Baltimore,
Md./Perry Hall) combined for 21 boards.
Roberts finished with a game- and career-high
20 points on 9-of-12 shooting while Saint-Aubin
recorded a double-double on 12 points and a game-high 11
rebounds. Sham added a dozen points as well
while Seeman contributed 11.
Wenger pulled down 10 caroms while dishing out a
career-high four assists.
St. Mary's was hurt by turnovers in the second half, committing
14 to the Eagles' six. Juniata, who finished with 15 for the
game, tallied 25 points off the Seahawks' 29 miscues.
