(Posted November 27, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- In a sport where 20 or more turnovers represents a sub-par performance, Pitt-Greensburg women's basketball had an off-night.

A really off night.

The Bobcats committed 31 turnovers and Juniata College took full advantage as the Eagles handed Pitt-Greensburg a 64-45 loss, Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Juniata (4-1) amassed 31 points off Pitt-Greensburg turnovers, nearly half of its points in the entire game. The Eagles shot just 33.3 percent (25-75) from the field - including a 7-of-28 effort from 3-point range - but they really didn't need to perform even at that level; between Bobcat passes lined into the stands and bounce passes picked off by Juniata guards, all the Eagles had to do was apply defensive pressure and wait.

The Eagles had three players score in double figures, all off the bench.

Junior guard Meagan Raville paced Juniata with (McSherrystown, Pa./Delone Catholic) 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and a 3-of-3 effort at the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Jordan Speck (Huntingdon, Pa./Southern Huntingdon) tacked on 12 points, buoyed by her 3-for-5 effort from beyond the arc. Senior forward Erin McGinley (Ashland, Pa./Tri-Valley) chipped in with 10 points.

What the Eagles did get from the starters was support on the boards. Freshman forward Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while senior forward Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) hauled down eight boards.

For the game, Juniata finished with 47 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive glass. The Eagles were unable to convert on the most of those offensive boards however, posting just 13 second-chance points.

In the scoring department, McDonald and Hnatuck contributed four and five points respectively. Sophomore Natalie Glinsky (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) led the starters with eight points.

Juniata turned a single-digit lead into a double-digit one midway through the first half, with a 13-3 run that put the Eagles in front 27-13 with 10:06 left in the frame. A pair of Bobcat buckets knocked the margin down to 27-17 at the 8:26 mark, but Pitt-Greensburg not score for another seven minutes. Juniata picked up a conventional 3-point play by Hnatuck followed by a trey from Jordan Hileman (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg), stretching the Eagles' lead to 16.

Another lengthy Bobcat scoring drought in the second half allowed the Eagles to go on a 10-0 run. McGinley contributed a pair of layups during the surge to give Juniata a 47-26 lead - its first 20+ point lead in the game - with 11:09 showing on the clock.

Juniata led by at least 20 points most of the rest of the way, with Ali Bilak making a layup in the waning seconds to keep the margin inside 20.

Pitt-Greensburg senior forward Casey Stanton recorded a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, but committed 10 of the Bobcats' 31 turnovers. Bilak finished with 15 points, while Brooke Pioli added nine points in the losing cause.

The Bobcats shot just 31.4 percent (16-51) from the field and were even less effective from beyond the arc with a 2-for-15 performance, but hauled in 42 rebounds including 34 at the defensive end.

Juniata's 4-1 start to the season is its best since the 2006-07 campaign, when the Eagles also began with a 4-1 record. The Eagles take to the court on Monday, Nov. 29, when they travel to Frostburg, Md., to face Frostburg State University.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.