By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – This week in Juniata College athletics both the men's and women's basketball teams competed and the swimming team got back into competition with a tri-meet against Marywood University and Susquehanna University.
Men's Basketball
The Juniata College men's basketball team re-opened the Landmark Conference season with a rematch of the 2013 conference tournament semifinals against The University of Scranton. The Eagles came out on top again in a thrilling one-point overtime victory, 80-79. Senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) posted his first double-double of the season pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds and added on 11 points. Sophomore Justin Fleming (Doswell, Va./Benedictine College Prep.) put in valuable minutes off the bench with 10 points, helping the Eagles bench that posted 20 critical points in a foul intensive game.
The men, now 11-2 overall and 2-0 in league, are back in action at home in a repeat of the 2013 Landmark tournament finals against the Catholic University of America Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.
Women's Basketball
The Juniata College women's basketball team traveled to Wilkes University on Monday night and came away with a 62-52 win. Senior Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) netted her fifth 20-point performance of the season. She finished with a game-high 22 points and team-high 11 rebounds.
The Eagles stayed on the road making the trip upstate to face The University of Scranton Lady Royals. Juniata fell to 0-2 in conference, 7-6 overall, with a 75-57 loss. Sophomore Paige Dennison (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) finished with a team-high 15 points going a career-best 13-for-16 from the free throw line. Seniors McDonald and Jordan Hileman (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg) also netted double figure points.
Juniata remains on the road against the Catholic University of America on Wednesday before returning home Saturday, Jan. 18, in a double header with the men's team against Drew University. The men tip off at 2 p.m. followed by the women's game at 4 p.m.
Women's Swimming
After over a month off, the Juniata College women's swimming team got back into the competition swing with a tri-meet against Maywood University and Susquehanna University. The Eagles finished third with freshman Erika Fimple (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby) setting a new school record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.34. Senior Hillary Palmer (Fayetteville, Ga./Fayette County) picked up Juniata's lone individual win, finishing first in the 100 backstroke in a season-best time of 1:03.41.
The 400 yard free relay team of Palmer, Fimple, sophomores Chrissy Whiteman (Delmont, Pa./Franklin Regional) and Emily Nye (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) recorded a time of 3:49.30 to win the final event of the afternoon. The Eagles will continue Landmark action this Saturday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. at Drew University.
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