BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Juniata College women's basketball team rode a late surge and some clutch free-throw shooting, and managed to come away from Johnston Hall with a 63-60 victory over Moravian College in a Saturday afternoon Landmark Conference matchup.
The win, Juniata's first at Johnston Hall since the 2000-01 season, allowed the 11th-ranked Eagles to remain undefeated in Landmark play at 11-0, 21-1 overall.
Junior Natalie Glinsky (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) brought the three-point attack home to Moravian (13-9, 6-5 Landmark) with a 4-of-11 effort from the floor including a 3-of-6 mark from beyond the three-point line. She finished the game with 13 points, her first double-digit outing in six games and one off her season high.
Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) logged her 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds, and dished out a game-high six assists to go with two blocks and four steals. Jordan Speck (Huntingdon, Pa./Southern Huntingdon) rounded out Juniata's double-digit scorers with 10 points, shooting 3-of-9 from the field with a pair of treys.
Juniata needed a late run to eke out the victory. Trailing 54-53 with 3:52 remaining in the game, Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic) put Juniata in front with a layup. Following a Moravian turnover, McDonald padded the lead with layup of her own, and a Glinsky jumper left Juniata holding a 59-54 lead with the clock down to 1:39.
Moravian's Alexandra Blair trimmed the Juniata lead down to three points with a layup on the Greyhounds' ensuing possession.
From there, the Eagles managed cling to their one-possession lead by remaining just ahead of the 'Hounds at the stripe. Juniata went 4-of-6 at the line over the final 30 seconds of play, with Bankos, McDonald, and Alyssia Gordon (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) all hitting shots at the line.
After a first half that saw Juniata lead by as many as seven but take a one-point lead in the locker room at halftime, 28-27, the Eagles and Greyhounds played a neck-and-neck affair for the second 20 minutes. The second half featured six ties and 11 lead changes, including three lead changes and two ties in the final five minutes alone.
Juniata shot 33 percent from the floor to Moravian's 38 percent, but outperformed the Greyhounds from three-point range where the Eagles were 6-of-21. The Eagles also held a commanding 51 to 35 advantage on the boards, including a 21 to 11 margin on the offensive glass that translated to 13 second-half points for Juniata.
Moravian's Amanda Kreuder led the Greyhounds with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while Blair finished with 14 points and a team-high eight boards. Katie O'Rourke dished out four assists for the Greyhounds.
Juniata returns home next Friday, Feb. 10, when it faces Catholic University of America at 5:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.
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