Box Score
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- In a game that featured 10 lead changes and six ties, the Lycoming College women’s basketball team fell 59-55 to St. Lawrence University in the opening game of the Hoops for Hounds Holiday Classic, hosted by the Lady Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 2.
The first half was sloppy, with both teams combining for 35 turnovers. Lycoming (2-9) needed a few plays to get its shooting dialed in before freshman Leann Randall (Audobon, Pa./Methacton) buried a three-pointer, cutting into the Saints' lead, 5-3.
Senior guard Allison Mock (State College, Pa./State College) gave Lycoming its first lead, 6-5, with Lycoming’s second three-pointer of the game. Alicia Engler (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Twp.) hit a jumper, putting the Lady Warriors up 8-5. St. Lawrence (7-1) tied the game for the first time at eight apiece with 12:31 on the clock.
The Saints pulled ahead by two after a pair of free throws, but enjoyed the lead for less than a minute before Rebecca Leid (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) rolled in a layup, tying the game for a second time. St. Lawrence hit a free throw to gain a one-point lead. But again Lycoming answered, grabbing the lead 12-11 on a Chelsea Shearer (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) jumper.
With 8:55 on the clock, a pair of free throws gave St. Lawrence the lead, 13-12. Again it was Leid who posted a layup to put the Lady Warriors up 14-13.
After a two-minute scoring drought, St. Lawrence gained a narrow one-point advantage. With 4:41 left in the first half, the Saints built a three-point lead on a set of free throws. The Lady Warriors cut the lead to two on a Shearer jumper, but the Saints scored a three-pointer to end the half and send the teams to the locker rooms 22-17 in favor of St. Lawrence.
Despite St. Lawrence opening the second half with a jumper, giving them a seven-point advantage, Lycoming clawed its way back into the game, eliminating the deficit and tying the contest at 24 apiece on a pair of Engler free throws.
Mock rolled in a layup with 16:00 minutes left in the game to break the tie, putting Lycoming up 26-24. The Saints scored a three-pointer to regain the lead, 27-26. Finding themselves down four, the Lady Warriors rallied around layups from Leid and Kaitlyn Ober (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) to get within two points of the St. Lawrence lead.
Following a Rachael Scheller (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) steal, Mock converted an old-fashioned three point play with a layup and a free throw, regaining a Warrior lead.
With 10:35 remaining in the game, the Lady Warriors tied the game for a sixth and final time, 37-37 on a Scheller free throw. The Saints controlled the game for the remaining time to hand the Warriors the defeat.
Engler led the game in scoring, posting 18 points. Mock, Leid and Ober all recorded eight points, with Ober pacing the contest in rebounds, snagging 12 total, five of which came on offense. Leid was second in the game with 11, including nine on defense.
As a team, Lycoming played a solid game, outrebounding St. Lawrence 43-36, while also getting 26 points from its bench, while the Saints recorded just 13 bench points.
Lycoming is back in action on Sunday, Jan. 3 when it hosts the final game of the Hoops for Hounds Classic against No. 5 Kean University, which won its first game over Misericordia University 72-53. Tip-off for the Lady Warriors game is at 3 p.m. in Lamade Gymnasium.
