TOWSON, Md. - Dani Atkinson, Katy Leamer and Bri Wasser record double-digits at the net in Juniata's 70-64 victory over Goucher on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Leamer marked her second-consecutive double-double with 11 rebounds on the night as well.
Juniata and Goucher were knotted at seven three minutes into the contest. Katy Leamer (Altoona, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead with a three-pointer and began an 11-9 run. In the run, Juniata spread out their scoring with Wasser (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria), Suzy Badorf-England (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg), Atkinson (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic), Haley Myers (Huntingdon, Pa./Juniata Valley) and Morgan Instone (Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort) contributing. Juniata took a 21-16 lead into the second quarter.
Goucher tallied eight of its points in the last minute of the first quarter. However, it was Juniata that gained the momentum at the start of the second quarter. Atkinson hit a jumper in the Eagles' first possession of the quarter. Anstine then drew a foul and sunk her pair of shots at the line.
Holding a 25-17 lead, the Eagles let up three points from Goucher's leading scorer, in part to four scoreless Juniata possessions. A steal by Wasser led to Atkinson drawing a foul and making two free throws to take a 27-20 lead.
Juniata's offense went cold for the rest of the half, but the defense was able to keep the Goucher scoring to a minimum. The Gophers added up five in the final five minutes and trailed the Eagles by two. With a minute left, Atkinson drew another foul on a steal and moved to 4-4 at the free throw line in the half.
The Eagles' four-point lead was not enough, as the Gophers tied the game at 29 with a jumper and a layup before the buzzer sounded.
Goucher started the back-and-forth scoring in the third with a layup. Katy Leamer then answered and one-upped the layup with a three on the next JC possession. Juniata was ahead 32-21 when the Gophers began a 6-2 run to take a 37-34 lead. Myers accounted for the two points with a layup to stop the Eagles' scoreless streak.
JC and Goucher went back-and-forth until the game was tied at 41 with 3:36 left in the third. Wasser's two fouls were the start of a 13-6 Juniata run. The junior guard dominated the run with seven points, including a jumper at the end of the quarter to make the score 53-47.
Juniata won the game 70-64 with an evenly played fourth quarter, each team tallying 17 points. Kelly Leamer (Altoona, Pa./Bellwood) led the charge with seven points in the quarter. Atkinson followed with five points to cap off the night with 21 points.
Now 2-11 in the conference, the Eagles will play their final game of the 2016-17 season at Drew on Saturday, Feb. 18.
