BAYAMON, PR - Susquehanna women's basketball fended off a fourth-quarter rally by Montclair State Friday by as
Julia Roth's game-winning layup in the final seconds gave the River Hawks a 63-61 win. The women close out their stay at the Puerto Rico Clasico a perfect 2-for-2 after beating Union on Thursday to run their record to 10-1, their best start since 1982-83.
How it Happened:
- SU netted the first basket of the game, taking the early lead, but the Red Hawks did not sit quietly continuing to fight back the majority of the first quarter.
- Susquehanna kept the pressure on, jumping out to a 14-point lead late in the first quarter and leading 25-13 at the first break.
- Julia Pinckert netted ten points in the opening period alone, including her first two 3-pointers.
- Susquehanna kept in control during the second quarter, managing to outscore the Red Hawks in the frame, 15-13, to secure a 40-26 lead going into halftime.
- The River Hawks pressed on to maintain a double-digit lead after three quarters with a 52-40 lead going into the final ten minutes.
- Through three quarters Pinckert, Roth and Carly George each reached double digits in scoring, with 13 each from Pinckert and Roth, while George had 11.
- Montclair utilized full-court pressure throughout the fourth quarter to try to gain an edge, which fueled them to 21 fourth-quarter points to tie the game on a few occassions and eventually a brief lead at 59-58.
- Roth countered on SU's ensuing possession with a layup to lead 60-59 inside the final two minutes.
- The River Hawks were sent to the line several times late in the game, including a trip by Renee Wells while hanging on to their one-point lead. She made her second to give the team a 61-59 lead in the closing moments, only for MSU's Alyssa Craigwell to drill a baseline jumper for a 61-61 tie with under five seconds left.
- Susquehanna called a timeout to advance the ball. With 4.4 seconds remaining, Julia Pinckert laid a perfect inbounds pass from the opposite sideline to Julia Roth in the paint, who netted the game-winning layup with 2.8 seconds showing on the clock. Annie Greek offered the key screen to free Roth up for the look.
- The Red Hawks had only a sliver of time to make a final rebuttle, as Craigwell's look off the inbound with 1.1 seconds left failed to hit rim.
Inside the Box Score:
- The star Julia Roth would not be denied against the Red Hawks, netting 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
- Julia Pinckert scored 15 points for SU, including assisting on the game winning shot by Julia Roth.
- Carly George netted 11 points, with Zoie Maffei netting 10 points for the River Hawks.
- Susquehanna finished with 42.3 percent shooting at 22-of-52, with Pinckert's threes accounting for the team's only triples of the day as they shot 3-of-9. SU fared 16-of-22 from the free throw line.
- Montclair shot 41.1 percent at 23-of-56, making 6-of-22 threes and 9-of-14 free throws. Craigwell had 17 points to lead MSU, while Bella Bruce paced the Red Hawks with 19 markers.
- The River Hawks' 10-1 start marks their best since the 1982-83 team won their first 24 games.
Up Next for the River Hawks:
- (RV) Susquehanna heads into the winter break sitting pretty with a 10-1 overall record, the second best mark in the Landmark Conference behind only undefeated Scranton, with their meeting lined up for the Palestra Games on Sunday, Jan. 11.
- Until then the River Hawks take off a few weeks for the holidays before returning to action at Landmark-foe Lycoming College on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
