HUNTINGDON, PA (January 15, 2022) -- Graduate student guard
Erin McQuillen scored 13 of her game-high 23 points in the second half, as the Susquehanna University women's basketball team used a 26-18 fourth-quarter advantage to pull away for a 69-57 win over host Juniata College in Landmark Conference action from Memorial Gymnasium Saturday.
The River Hawks (9-5, 1-3 Landmark) earned their first conference victory, while posting their third straight win over the Eagles and eighth in the last 11 tries against Juniata College. Susquehanna University got the first bucket of the game on a three-pointer by
Kaitlyn Lynch, but the Eagles answered to tie the game at three.
The River Hawks would secure the momentum for the remainder of the first quarter, going on a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to take a 19-6 lead after a lay-up by
Sadie Comfort. After a three-point play by Taylor Vrabel of Juniata made it a 10-point game, Comfort ended the opening quarter with a jumper off a dish from junior
Isabella Schwabe to make it 21-9 going to the second quarter.
Susquehanna's lead would swell to 18 points on a pair of occasions, with the latest lead coming at 2:22 of the second quarter after a jumper from senior
Olivia Brandt. Juniata closed with the final five points of the stanza to make it a 35-22 game at the break. McQuillen scored 10 first-half points on 4-of-8 shooting, hitting both her three-point attempts, while Brandt added eight points in the first half.
Juniata (5-9, 1-3 Landmark) kept its momentum going in the third quarter, pulling to within five six minutes into the second half after a jumper from Haily Sherman. The River Hawks pushed their lead back up to nine points after a lay-up by senior
Amalia Esposito, but JC made it a four-point game going to the fourth on a three-pointer just before the buzzer.
Susquehanna would come alive offensively though in the fourth quarter, slowly building its lead back up to as much as 15 points with 25 seconds to go after free throws to seal the victory. McQuillen went 8-of-12 from the floor, hitting all three of her trifectas, adding six rebounds in her first game back after a two-game absence.
Brandt tallied 12 points and six rebounds as well for SU, adding four assists, while Lynch added 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Senior guard
Amanda Lemire posted seven points in 32 minutes, while Comfort chalked up seven points. Esposito finished with a game-high 10 rebounds, registering six points as well.
SU shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the field for the game, also connecting on 11 of its 15 shots (73.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Susquehanna finished with 14 assists and 14 turnovers on the game. Juniata was paced by the 20 points from Sherman, as she went 9-of-22 from the floor. Cassie Mock, who came into Saturday's game as the leading three-point shooter in Division III at a 52.9 percent clip, was 3-of-8 from deep while adding nine points.
The Eagles also got eight points each from Grace Long and Steph Emert, while Averie Hess finished with a team-high eight rebounds. Juniata had 22 offensive rebounds for the contest, resulting in 21 more shots but made just 30.3 percent from the floor (23-76). JC also connected on just 42.9 percent at the line.
Up Next
- The River Hawks will look to keep the momentum going into Wednesday evening, as SU hosts Drew University at 7 p.m. in O.W. Houts Gymnasium in Landmark Conference play.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
