Dan Sherman
Asst. SID
Juniata College
814-641-3513
TOWSON, Md., The Juniata College women's basketball team traveled to Maryland to take on the Gophers in Landmark Conference play Wednesday night. The Eagles defeated Goucher 72-41, their largest margin of victory this season. The win puts the Blue and Gold back at .500 in conference play at 5-5.
Juniata had four players come close to finishing with double-doubles. Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, PA / Bishop Guilfoyle) led the Eagles with 19 points. The senior just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. She also finished with three assists, a steal and a block. Olivia Halfpenny (McVeytown, PA / Mifflin County) had 11 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. Maria Photiades (Abottstown, PA / Delone Catholic HS) also just missed out on double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Rachael Anstine (York, PA / Dallastown) had eight points, nine rebounds, and a team-high three blocks in 19 minutes off of the bench.
The Eagles shot 47.5% from the floor and out-rebounded their opponent 60-35, their most in a single game this season. Juniata has had difficulty closing out opponents in the second half this season, but coasted to victory tonight.
Livoti put the team on the board with a layup. After a Halfpenny jumper, Danielle Atkinson (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster Catholic) drained a trey to put the Eagles ahead 7-2. Halfpenny added a three of her own to give the team a nine point advantage. Later, a layup from the sophomore gave Juniata a 17-4 lead with under 14 minutes to play in the first half. The Blue and Gold continued to pour it on and headed to the locker room with a 20-point lead. Photiades made a layup with 16 seconds on the clock to make it a 38-18 game.
The Eagles kept applying pressure the rest of the way, scoring four points to start the half. Goucher was never able to recover from the first half and was prevented from ever going on a potential run. The Eagles defense held the Gophers to just 25% shooting from the floor and limited their second chance scoring attempts.
The Eagles are now 7-12 and still very much alive in the playoff hunt. Juniata will return home to host Drew on Saturday at 2 pm. The men's team will Shaq the House following them at 4.
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