THE HEADLINE: The Eagles battle back from a 13-point deficit to defeat Frostburg State 65-64 to move to 3-2 on the season.
THE STARTERS:
21 Katy Leamer
42 Kelly Leamer
FIRST HALF: The Eagles took their first lead of the game with two successful free throws and a layup by Anstine (York, Pa./Dallastown), making the score 8-6 early in the first quarter. On the Bobcats' next possession, they hit a three to take the lead and the back-and-forth began. Behind 11-8, Bailey Swogger (Tyrone, Pa./Bellwood-Antis), Haley Myers (Huntingdon, Pa./Juniata Valley) and Bri Wasser (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) came off the bench and tallied seven points to end the first quarter 16-15, Bobcats.
Frostburg came out strong in the second quarter and extended their lead to 30-17, the largest lead throughout the contest. Four two-pointers (Anstine, Katy Leamer, Atkinson and Wasser) and threes by Spencer (York, Pa./York Suburban) and Atkinson (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) again put Juniata down by one. Going into halftime, the score was 33-32.
SECOND HALF: On Anstine's free throw with two minutes left in the third quarter, Juniata held a 48-46 lead. However, in the last minute of the quarter, the Bobcats pulled ahead on a layup and a three-pointer to make the score 51-48.
Suzy Badorf-England (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) responded to Frostburg's jumper at the start of the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, sparking Juniata's offense.
Down by four with five minutes left to play, Atkinson, Kelly Leamer (Altoona, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) and Anstine each sink a basket, and keep the Bobcats quiet with only one layup, knotting the game at 58. Atkinson hit a layup with the clock at 3:35 and Kelly Leamer added on one more at 2:40. Frostburg then responded with a layup of their own to shrink the Eagles lead to only two points. After a Juniata timeout, the Bobcats tacked on three points to regain the lead with 49 seconds left to play. A successful free throw then extended their lead to 64-62.
Immediately after, with the clock counting down from 12 seconds, Anstine tied the game with a layup and was fouled underneath the basket. On a successful free throw, Juniata pulled ahead and won the game 65-64.
KEY PERFORMERS: Anstine and Atkinson each scored 17 points, leading the offense throughout the game. Anstine was 6-9 on field goal attempts and 5-6 on free throw attempts. She also pulled down nine rebounds, seven defensive and two offensive. Spencer marked eight assists for JC.
WHAT'S NEXT?: Juniata faces Wilkes University at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Conference play begins on Saturday, Dec. 3 as both the women and men head to Scranton for a doubleheader.