ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team couldn't come back from some early cold shooting as they fell to Elizabethtown, 63-42, Wednesday evening at Thompson Gymnasium.
The Blue Jays opened the game on an 8-0 run before Gracie Stauffer (Loysville, Pa. / West Perry) scored on a put back. A Larissa Leonard (Three Springs, Pa. / Southern Huntingdon) free throw had the Eagles within five midway through the opening stanza. Stauffer split a pair of foul shots but that was the only Eagle point for a few minutes as the Blue Jays went up 13-4 and JC called timeout. Kaeana Rebert (Hanover, Pa. / South Western) got fouled while shooting a three and made all of her free throws to make it 13-7. A Grace Long (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) triple off a Rebert pass made it 17-10 with a minute and a half to go in the quarter. Etown scored on a layup in the final thirty seconds as the Eagles trailed 19-10 after one.
Juniata went cold in the second quarter as Elizabethtown held a 21-2 scoring advantage in the period to go up 40-12 heading into halftime.
The Eagles battled the rest of the game as they hung tight in the third as the Blue Jays held a 13-11 advantage heading into the fourth where JC outscored the hosts 19-10 to close the game.
Juniata now requires some help to secure a Landmark Conference postseason berth. They need to defeat Susquehanna on Saturday and need Catholic to lose at Drew.
The Eagles will host Susquehanna on Senior Day, Saturday at 2:00.