CARLISLE, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team hung tough but couldn't catch Dickinson College as they lost, 71-59, Thursday evening.
The Red Devils scored the opening five points of the contest before Madison Colyer (Newville, Pa. / Big Spring) found Larissa Leonard (Three Springs, Pa. / Southern Huntingdon) behind the three-point line and she drilled it to put the Eagles on the board. Dickinson scored inside and Leonard swished another three. The Red Devils scored again with a layup and Leonard drilled her third three as she scored the first nine points for JC.
Colyer setup Gracie Stauffer (Loysville, Pa. / West Perry) for a layup to make it 14-11 with four and half minutes to go in the opening period. The teams traded misses until Averie Hess (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) scored from the midrange off a pass from Cassidy Arnold (York, Pa. / Eastern York HS) to bring the Eagles within one. Dickinson scored the next seven points in the final three minutes as it appeared they would lead by at least seven after one. Cassie Mock (York, Pa. / Eastern York HS) stole the ball with 10 seconds to go and flipped it ahead to Arnold who laid it in as Juniata trailed 21-15 after one.
Mock found Stauffer for an inside score 55 seconds into the second. Juniata went scoreless over the next four minutes until Grace Long (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) scored off an assist from Colyer which made it 28-19. The Red Devils scored inside, Arnold converted an and-one and Stauffer scored again to pull the Eagles within six. A 7-0 blitz from the Red Devils pushed the deficit to double digits with just over a minute to go.
Leonard and Stauffer converted a pair of free throws an apiece, the Red Devils nailed a three to push their lead to 12, 40-28 with 34 seconds to go. Kymiah Carpenter (Baltimore, Md. / Gerstell Academy) answered with a three of her own to send the Eagles into the locker room down nine at the half.
Dickinson split a pair of free throws to start the second half, Stauffer scored off a feed from Leonard, the Red Devils scored on another layup before Arnold converted two more free throws.
The teams continued to trade points at the line, with a free throw from Mock making it 64-52. Dickinson turned the ball over, Long drilled a three off a Mock assist and Stauffer followed with two free throws to make it 64-57 with four and half minutes to go.
The Eagles could not get any closer the rest of the contest as Dickinson kept them at arm's length for the remainder of the contest.
Juniata will host York, Wednesday at 6:00.