(Posted December 3, 2005)

Moravian 65, Juniata 64

Huntingdon, Pa. ? The Juniata College women?s basketball team was a mere two seconds away from toppling 15th-ranked Moravian College, but the visiting Greyhounds sank a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining to hand the Eagles a 65-64 loss Saturday night in Memorial Gym. The Eagles fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play with the loss, while Moravian is now 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in conference.

It looked like the Eagles might pull off the upset when Ali Meckey (Bishop Carroll/Ebensburg) drilled her third three-pointer of the game to put Juniata on top 62-60 with 1:46 remaining. Moravian would cut the lead to one on a Stephanie Seaman free throw and then take the lead 63-62 on a Seaman jumper with 48 seconds on the clock. Moravian would get the ball back after a Juniata turnover, but missed a pair of free throws to keep Juniata in striking distance. A Moravian foul sent Kristen Kirk (Newport/Newport) to the line with 18 seconds remaining where she calmly sank both shots to give the Eagles a 64-63 lead. Moravian would miss its first shot at a game winner, but Sara Steinman got the offensive rebound and was fouled with two ticks showing on the clock. She converted both free throws, and the Eagles were unable to get off a shot in the final seconds.

The game was back-and-forth throughout as the teams were tied on seven occasions in the second half, and neither team held a lead of more than seven points in the game. The Eagles maintained a slight edge for the first 10 minutes of the second half, before a Kelly Applegate lay-up gave Moravian its first advantage since the 12:54 mark of the first half. Juniata rallied back, getting a pair of free throws and a jumper from Lesley Snoby (Johnstown/Johnstown) to pull back in front with 5:10 left. The lead changed hands three more times before Meckey?s three in the final two minutes.

Juniata pulled out to the biggest lead towards the end of the first half. The Eagles? pressure defense forced 19 first-half turnovers from the Greyhounds and 29 for the game. Leading 18-17 with 8:31 to go, Juniata got back-to-back threes from Meckey and Mindy Werner (West York/York) to claim the game?s largest lead. Moravian would inch back within one, but Juniata ended the half on a 5-0 run to take a six-point edge into the locker room.

Katie O?Brien (South Western/Hanover) scored a team-high 13 points for Juniata and led the team with eight rebounds. Meckey finished with 11 points while Kirk, Snoby and Jess Winemiller (Dallastown/York) all had eight.

Jenny Hackleman scored 20 points to lead all players, while Applegate recorded a ?double-double? with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Seaman added 15 points in the win.

Juniata gets back in action on Tuesday with a road game at Waynesburg.

MORAVIAN (65): Steinman 2 2-2 7, Seaman 7 1-2 15, Applegate 8 3-6 19, Hackleman 9 2-4 20, Rizman 1 0-0 2, Blake 0 2-4 2, Savino 0 0-0 0, Brase 0 0-0 0, Berlin 0 0-0 0, Elneus 0 0-0 0. Totals ? 27 10-18 65.

JUNIATA (64): Meckey 4 0-0 11, Walsh 2 0-0 5, Kirk 3 2-2 8, Winemiller 4 0-3 8, O?Brien 5 3-4 13, Callas 2 3-4 7, Werner 1 0-0 3, Ashcraft 0 1-2 1, Snoby 3 2-2 8. Totals ? 24 11-17 64.

Halftime: Juniata 33-27. 3-point goals: Moravian 1 (Steinman); Juniata 5 (Meckey 3, Walsh, Werner). Assists: Moravian 6 (Applegate, Rizman 2); Juniata 10 (Kirk 3). Rebounds: Moravian 36 (Applegate 11); Juniata 26 (O?Brien 8).


Records: Juniata (3-4); Moravian (6-0).

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