READING, Pa.- The Juniata women's basketball team were level through a quarter of play but were consistently outmatched the rest of the way in an 80-59 defeat on Tuesday evening to Alvernia.
Alvernia drew an early advantage to open play, going up 9-2 in the first two minutes of play. Juniata began to narrow the gap with back-to-back jumpers from Haily Sherman and Bri Bodtorf. With five minutes left in the first, Sherman sank a three to get back within two before Steph Emert hit two straight layups for a 13-11 lead. Alvernia responded with a six point run to take a four point advantage. A jump shot from Emelie Nonemaker, a layup from Olivia Berg, and a three from Emily McCann put Juniata ahead 20-17 with a minute to play in the first. The Wolves responded with a three of three own, and the sides each carried 20 points into the first break.
The second quarter saw Alvernia post 22 points to take a nine-point advantage into halftime. Five unanswered Wolves points were followed by a layup from Bodtorf and a three-pointer from Sherman to get back within two, but the Eagles could not get any closer. The Wolves went on a ten-point uncontested run, and that margin was maintained going into the half with Alvernia on top 42-33.
The third quarter opened with Alvernia outscoring Juniata 8-3 in the first three minutes of the half, for a 52-36 lead. Both sides struggled to score the in the final seven minutes of the third, and the Wolves went into the final quarter of play with a 58-42 advantage. Sherman posted five points in the third off a layup and three-pointer.
Alvernia would again moderately outscore the Eagles in the fourth quarter, posting 22 points to the Eagles' 16. Sherman again led the scoring for Juniata in the fourth with six total points.
Sherman ended the contest with a team-high 16 points, a season-high mark for the sophomore including a team-high seven field goals and two three-pointers. Bodtorf posted 12 points which included going a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line. She also led Juniata with eight rebounds.
Nonemaker's eight points were the most from a bench player, while Berg led the team in steals with two.
The loss moves Juniata to 4-6 on the season, and they so far have gone 1-2 in December with two more games to play.
The Juniata women's basketball team returns following the holidays as they host the Comfort Inn Classic on Friday, December 30th and Saturday, December, 31st. They play Oberlin at 6:00 pm on the 30th and conclude the tournament against Hiram at 4:00 pm on the 31st. It'll be a first-time meeting on both occasions for the Eagles, and both Oberlin and Hiram are 5-4 so far through their nonconference leg of the season.
