(Posted January 3, 2007)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - It was far from a perfect performance, but in the end the Juniata College women\'s basketball team found a way to win as the Eagles battled past visiting University of Rutgers-Camden 63-55 in non-conference action in Huntingdon Wednesday night. The win moved Juniata to 9-2 overall while the Scarlet Raptors fell to 4-7. Jess Winemiller (Dallastown/York) scored a team-high 14 points for the Eagles who shot a solid 55 percent from the field in the game. After a back-and-forth first half, Juniata took the lead for good on a Claudia McDowell (Juniata Valley/Alexandria) hoop in the early moments of the second half. The teams would trade scores for much of the next 10 minutes before a jumper from Winemiller and a three from Mindy Werner (West York/York) gave Juniata its first double-digit lead of the day at 50-39 with 8:11 remaining. Following a Crystak Jankowksi free throw, another Werner hoop gave Juniata its largest lead of 12 points. But the visitors would not go away as Juniata struggled from the foul line and Rutgers-Camden\'s pressure defense forced Juniata into numerous turnovers. A jumper by Karen Carter and then a three and a lay-up from Imani Hafiz brought Rutgers-Camden within four points with 2:23 remaining in the half. Juniata halted the run with a jumper from Emily Hauser (Mt. Lebanon/Pittsburgh) and the visitors would get no closer than six points the rest of the way. Hafiz led all players with 17 points in the game, and Jankowski had 13 rebounds, helping the visitors to a hefty 40-34 edge on the boards. Both teams also struggled with turnovers as the visitors committed 27 on the game while Juniata gave the ball up 25 times. But the Eagles shot 44 percent from the field in the contest, while limiting the visitors to 34 percent shooting. Winemiller was 5-of-8 from the field in the game and also pulled down seven rebounds. Courtney Callas (Freeport/Sarver) and Meckey each chipped in with nine points for Juniata. Jill Walsh (Ferndale/Johnstown) led the team with five assists, while Kelly Ashcraft (State College/Bellefonte) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Rutgers-Camden also got nine points Jankowski in the game to go with her game-high 13 boards. She also led the team with five assists. Juniata will be back in action on Saturday as the Eagles begin competition in a two-day tournament hosted by Villa Julie College. ###

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