HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Junior Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) had a career-high 34 points and game-high 15 rebounds to pace the Juniata women's basketball team to its 73-63 upset of No. 19 Moravian College Saturday night in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center.
"We definitely needed to come out and win it," said head coach Danny Young-Uhrich. "It was not a question. It was good for us, for just our morale to really compete. Anytime we can go out and beat Moravian, you know, we have a nice little friendly rivalry with them, so it's fun to beat them."
Juniata (15-6, 6-4 Landmark) handed the Greyhounds their first conference lost of the season. Moravian dropped to 19-3 (10-1 Landmark) with the loss. It was the Eagles first win over a ranked opponent this year.
It was McDonald's 10th double-double. She tied for the game-high of three assists and had four steals.
"She was on a mission," said Young of McDonald. "When we went down to Moravian in the first game of the conference season, she played terrible, so she was on a mission. Obviously she helped her team win, but it wasn't solely Kate, it was a good team effort."
Junior Jordan Hileman (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg) also finished in double-figures. She earned 11 points making 4-of-9 from the field and went a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
The Eagles trailed by two at the half (37-35) but came out of the break fired up. They went on a 13-4 run to take the lead (48-41) four minutes into the second half. Juniata went on to lead by as much as 12 before the Greyhounds pulled within four (67-63) with 1:16 to play. But Juniata went 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to earn the win.
Moravian was led by Katie O'Rourke. The guard finished with 19 points and a game high five steals.
Juniata heads to Towson, Md. next to take on Goucher College Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. The Eagles are 11-0 all-time against Goucher. They defeated the Gophers 71-33 back on Jan. 16.
"We can't have any letups," added Young-Uhrich. "Especially after a big win like this. We have to make sure that we're focused and take care of business. I think we can finish as high as third in our conference and we would need a lot of help from other teams to get in the first and second slot, but you know, regardless we need to take care of business so we're in the playoffs and have a shot at the conference championship."
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