DALLAS, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team lost a tight one on the road at Misericordia University, 59-57, Monday evening inside the Anderson Sports Center.
Steph Emert had a career-high 21 points with five rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Haily Sherman totaled 17 points, two rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Laney Gerdich added nine points, seven rebounds, an assist, and two steals.
The teams traded buckets early as two Emert threes helped Juniata lead by two midway through the quarter, 10-8. The Eagle offense continued to fire on all cylinders as the defense closed up shop, igniting an 11-2 run to close the quarter. Emert was feeling it in the opening quarter, scoring 12 points.
In the second quarter, Juniata led by as many as 12, but the Cougars quickly responded, slicing the lead back down to four in a few minutes. A steal and a layup by Sherman, followed by an Emma Coolidge putback, pushed the lead back to eight. Juniata led by eight at the half, 32-24.
Misericordia made their move in the third, outscoring Juniata 18-8 and shooting 45% from the floor, while JC was 23.08%. Juniata was ahead 37-30 with just under six minutes to go in the third, but MU closed out the third on a 12-3 run, taking the lead on a layup in transition in the final minute. The Eagles went into the fourth down two, 42-40.
Layups from Emert and Gerdich, followed by a left-wing three by Sherman, put the Eagles back up by five early in the final frame. That started a mini three-point contest as the Cougars made two triples before Sherman drilled another to put JC back up by two with five to go. The teams traded points down the stretch, and with one minute to go, MU took the lead on a layup, 54-53. The Eagles missed on the other end, and the hosts scored inside to increase the deficit to three.
Coming out of the timeout after advancing the ball, Gerdich caught the ball on the left block. She faced up her defender, drove around her, and finished off the glass to cut the deficit back to one with 16 seconds to go. Juniata fouled, the Cougars split the foul shots, and JC called timeout. Bodtorf inbounded the ball and got it back at the top of the key. She crossed from right to left, drove strong, and went up with her left. It was a bit short and rolled off the rim to a Cougar. JC fouled, and again, the Cougars split the free throws, so Juniata had a final chance down three. Emert came rocketing towards the ball for a handoff at the top of the key and was foul while trying to get a tying shot off, so she went to the line. She swished the first two, but the final one caught the right side of the rim and bounced off. MU got the rebound, JC fouled, and MU split the free throws again, but Juniata didn't have enough time to get a shot off.
Juniata returns to action after Thanksgiving, next Wednesday at Elizabethtown, with tipoff set for 7:00.
