Box Score

MONTCLAIR, N.J. – A solid defensive effort by the Susquehanna women's basketball team was unfortunately not enough to lead the Crusaders past Montclair State, as the Hawks came away with a 55-51 win on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Erika Barron (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area) and sophomore Gina Palazzi (Newfoundland, Pa./Wallenpaupack) combined for 27 of SU's 51 points. Barron led the team with 14 points and Palazzi finished with 13.

Barron led SU with three steals five assists, as well. Palazzi, meanwhile, pulled down a team-high six rebounds for the Crusaders (4-5), who were out-rebounded by a 44-34 margin.

Susquehanna shot nearly 37 percent from the floor, but free throws proved to be a factor in the loss as SU made just 35 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.

The Crusaders did force 21 Montclair State turnovers, which translated in to 25 points for SU. The Susquehanna defense also gave the Hawks' three-point shooters problems all afternoon, holding Montclair State (4-4) to a 30-percent showing from three-point range.

The Hawks' Kisandra Ayanbeku scored the game's first points on a jumper less than 30 seconds into the action and gave her team a lead it would not relinquish all afternoon. Ayanbeku finished with 12 points and was one of two Hawks who finished in double figures.

At the midway point of the opening half, the Hawks led 15-7 before back-to-back Palazzi buckets cut that lead to four (15-11).

Three minutes later, Palazzi knotted the game at 18 with a layup but Montclair State responded with a 10-0 run that burned more than three minutes off the clock.

The Crusaders ended the half on a high note, though, scoring the final five points of the period to keep within three points of the lead (30-27).

Barron opened the second half with a layup at the 19:31 mark to pull SU back within one (30-29). Montclair maintained a three-point edge, 39-36, with 15:22 to play, but both teams fell into a scoring drought, with neither team putting points on the board for nearly three minutes.

Ayanbeku snapped that stretch with a layup for a 41-36 score, but back-to-back baskets by the Crusaders again tied the score at 41-all with 11:28 to play.

From there, SU and Montclair State traded baskets. With 6:35 remaining, freshman Amarra Boone (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) kept it a tie game (46-46) with a layup and a Barron free throw again knotted it at 51 with two minutes remaining.

That, however, marked the final time the Crusaders saw a share of the lead, as the Hawks scored the final four points of the game, two of which came on free throws as Susquehanna was forced to foul.

Next game: Saturday, Dec. 18 vs. McDaniel – 2 p.m. (SAAC Canned Food Drive)