By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Juniata College women's basketball team fought hard Wednesday night on the road in the Landmark Conference semifinal bout with University of Scranton before falling 74-53 to the top seeded Royals. Juniata (14-12) had an early lead, but Scranton would push ahead by 17 before the break and never look back.
"I think for the first five minutes we hung in there, but after that, when Scranton started to pick up their momentum it went south pretty quick and we could not bounce back from it," said head coach Danny Young-Uhrich. "Today was just not our day. I just hope for our senior's sake, in particular, that this isn't the last time we're walking off a basketball court. For them, I just don't want this to be their last game. For the returners, this is motivation. This is motivation to work hard in the offseason. "
Seniors Jordan Hileman (Williamsburgn, Pa./Williamsburg) and Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) led the way with team-highs of 14 and 12 points, respectively. Hileman went 6-for-10 from the floor and McDonald earned her 17th double-double of the season by grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
"They were the reason for our success this season," Young-Uhrich added of the seniors. "They were the backbone. They contributed so much. They showed up every game. Hopefully this isn't the end."
Juniata now waits to see if they will earn a spot in the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Tournament. They are now 4-6 all-time in the Landmark tournament and 1-3 against Scranton. The Eagles finish the regular season ranked top 100 in six different categories, including 18th in fewest personal fouls per game. Four Eagles earned nationally rankings individually. McDonald, junior Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and sophomore Paige Dennison (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) appear in the field goal percentage rankings.
Hileman appears with McDonald in the assists-to-turnover and assists per game lists. McDonald worked her way to four other categories, including 11th in steals per game and 13th in double-doubles. She leads the league in steals, rebounds and double-doubles.
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