HUNTINGDON, Pa. - The Juniata women's basketball team walked away from Hiram College, quelling the Terriers' attack in a 63-41 victory to round out the Comfort Inn Classic on Saturday evening.
The Terriers opened the game with two straight layups before Haily Sherman opened the scoresheet for Juniata with a driving layup off a steal. The Terriers converted on two free throws, but their lead vanished with two straight threes from Kynnedy Miller to make it 9-6.
Bodtorf to Miller for 3! #WingsUp #TakingFlight #GoEagles pic.twitter.com/AUEzZeLLco
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) December 31, 2022
Emile Nonemaker hit a layup and Olivia Berg converted two free throws in the final five minutes of the quarter to counter Hiram as they went 4-4 on free throws to round out the first with Juniata holding a 13-10 advantage.
Bri Bodtorf found Sherman driving from the right into the paint to open the second quarter, and Hiram responded with their own to get back within three. Juniata posted five straight in the next minute of play off a Sherman layup fed by Miller, a free throw from Sherman, and a layup from Steph Emert made it 20-12 as the Eagles called timeout with seven minutes remaining.
Haily Sherman with the and one! #WingsUp #TakingFlight #GoEagles pic.twitter.com/dnuF8HsHu9
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) December 31, 2022
A Hiram free throw was followed by a Bodtorf jumper in the paint. Hiram tacked on two points from four free throw attempts before Miller unmarked on the left wing sank her third three-pointer off a pass from Emily McCann to make it 25-15. She followed with a layup before Hiram concluded the half on an eight-point unanswered run to stand four points back at 27-23 with 20 minutes to play.
Miller lead Juniata with 11 points in the first half off a trio of three pointers and a layup.
Hiram opened the third with a layup to get within a score, but Emert shot an open three from the right wing to go ahead by five. Two free throws and a layup for the Terriers got them back within two, but they would go no closer the rest of the way. Juniata stormed away on an 11-0 run that featured four points from Emma Coolidge.
Berg with the steal and score! #WingsUp #TakingFlight#GoEagles pic.twitter.com/aFwoBg0ETY
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) December 31, 2022
Juniata continued the onslaught in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Terriers 22-11 in the quarter. Bodtorf collected nine points and three steals in the fourth, while Sherman tacked on eight points that included a pair of three-pointers.
Hiram was kept to a 21.6% field goal percentage, while they shot just 14.3% from behind the three-point line. The Eagles were 38.2% field goal shooters and 36.8% three-point shooters, while they were a season-best 82.4% from the free-throw line, where they totaled 14 points.
Sherman ended the game with the most points for Juniata with 16, including the two threes in the fourth quarter. It's the most points from Sherman in a single game this season.
Miller and Emert each totaled 11 points, and Emert led the team in steals with four. Coolidge led bench players with eight points while leading the team with ten total rebounds, a new career high.
Emert places on the Comfort Inn Classic All-Tournament team, collecting 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, five steals, and a block across two games.
Juniata heads into 13 straight Landmark Conference games with a 5-6 nonconference record and a 0-1 record in Landmark play.
They'll host Goucher on Saturday, January 7th, at 2:00 pm at Memorial Gym. Juniata is 26-2 against the Gophers, with a 62-50 victory at home and a 50-44 victory in Baltimore last season. Goucher will enter Huntingdon 3-9 on the season and 1-5 in the month of December.
