WAYNE, N.J. – Juniata women's basketball saw its undefeated season come to an end with a 71-53, loss to no. 6 William Paterson, Saturday afternoon in the William Paterson Recreation Center.
Sophomore Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) was the only Eagle to get out of single-digits in rebounding and points as she drained 19 points and pulled down 10 boards. The Pioneers countered with three double-digit scoring performances led by senior forward April Smith who posted 16 points.
The first half was neck-and-neck as the Eagles kept the game close, and only allowed William Paterson (8-0) to take a lead larger than five points when the game clock read seven minutes left in the stanza.
No. 17 Juniata (8-1) went on a brief 5-0 rally on the Pioneers to cap the half that featured a junior Alyssia Gordon (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) jumper followed by a McDonald jumper and foul shot. Despite all efforts, Juniata found itself trailing at intermission for the first time this season with the score at 34-28.
As the second half commenced, the Pioneers continued pulling away from Juniata at a steady pace
as the Eagles saw the score margin peak at 22 in the 38th minute.
Juniata posted a mere .100 shooting percentage from the three-point range with only sinking two treys in the second half. The squads' second stanza shooting percentage from the field was only slightly better with an 8-for-38 effort for a .211 clip.
Juniata put-up five 3-pointers in the contest, one more than William Paterson charted, and the least in a game for the Eagles since its season-opening win against Penn State Harrisburg (11/15). The Eagles' 21 turnovers were converted into 23 points by William Paterson while Juniata was only managed to translate the Pioneers' 20 turnovers into six points.
Women's hoops returns to the court next Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3:00 p.m. and will face Marymount University prior to breaking for the holiday season.
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