HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team had their comeback come up just short against visiting Drew University, 51-48, Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium.
Haily Sherman scored the first bucket of the game for JC from the left side of the hoop, off a bounce pass from Kynnedy Miller assist that she laid in off the glass.
Steph Emert and Bri Bodtorf scored the rest of the points for Juniata in a low-scoring first quarter that saw JC trailing by two, 8-6.
Sherman scored the first bucket of the second, driving hard from the left baseline and finishing with her left hand to tie the game at eight.
After a stop, Dani Scipioni brought the ball up and flipped it to Bodtorf on the right wing, who splashed a three to give the Eagles the lead.
Two minutes later, with the clock running down, Emert whipped the ball to Betts in the right corner, who fired right before the buzzer sounded and found the bottom of the net to push the JC advantage to five.
Two Emert free throws and a Bodtorf pullup jumper from the left wing off another Scipioni had Juniata up six momentarily before the Rangers responded with a three.
Juniata led 21-14 with four minutes to go in the half, but the Rangers closed on a 13-1 run as JC trailed by five at the break, 27-22.
A low-scoring third saw Sherman score four points while Betts had the other two, but the Eagle defense held the Rangers to five, as Juniata trailed by four heading into the final period, 32-28.
It was a Sherman corner jumper off a Scipioni assist that brought the Eagles within four.
The Rangers expanded their lead to nine over the first three and a half minutes, 37-28, before the Eagles began to chip away. Emert made two foul shots, Bodtorf hit Sherman for a layup, and Emma Coolidge finished inside to get the Eagle offense going.
Drew had answers as they matched JC bucket for bucket, and a layup made it 43-34 with exactly four minutes to go.
Bodtorf hit Coolidge down low, and the sophomore spun away from her defender and laid it in. Olivia Berg stole the ball, and Emert laid it in on the other end to bring the Eagles within five. Bodtorf stole the ball away, and Emert scored inside again, making it 43-40.
The Rangers split a pair of free throws, and Sherman found Emert for another bucket in the paint.
In the final forty seconds, Drew used a layup to go by six before a Sherman three off a Betts pass brought Juniata back within three with 33 seconds on the clock. Drew ran down the clock, and JC eventually fouled. The Rangers made both, and Juniata missed on the other end. Drew split their foul shots, and Scipioni made a three from the left of the top of the key at the buzzer to complete the scoring.
Sherman had 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Emert contributed 13 points off the bench, along with three rebounds, an assist, and a steal, while Bodtorf totaled eight points, three rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
Juniata returns to action this Sunday at the famed Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to take on #13, the University of Catholic. Tipoff is at 2:30.
