Box Score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – After Arcadia University cut the lead to two points with less than 35 seconds to go, the Lycoming College women’s basketball team hit four free throws to ice away an important 60-54 Commonwealth Conference win on Saturday afternoon at Lamade Gymnasium.

The Warriors (9-12 overall, 4-6 Commonwealth) held onto a piece of fifth place in the conference standings with the win, and with four games to play, are just one game behind Alvernia (12-9 overall, 5-5 Commonwealth), who holds the fourth and final playoff slot.

"I knew we were in for a long second half because Arcadia wasn't going to go away," Lycoming head coach Christen Ditzler said. "We needed to continue with our defensive effort and run our sets."

Lycoming was led by the post trio of freshman Julia Antonelli (Hanover, Pa./New Oxford), who posted 18 points and nine rebounds, senior Kaitlyn Ober (Lititz, Pa./Warwick), who notched a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, and senior Rebecca Spencer (Granville Summit, Pa./ Troy), who added eight points and three rebounds.

"It was a really important game for us," Ober said. "The first time around, they stole one from us, so we knew we had to come into the game with fire and ready to play. We needed this to move up in the standings."

The Warriors dominance inside led to a 22-8 advantage in the paint and a 45-40 advantage on the glass, as Lycoming used a 16-point lead in the first half to hold off the late rush from the Knights (7-14 overall, 1-9 Commonwealth), who shot just 28.8 (17-for-59) from the field in the game.

Using a 14-2 run that spanned both halves, the Knights cut the lead to four points early in the second half before the Warriors responded with six straight points, two each from the post trio to retake a double-digit lead.

From there, the Knights kept responding to Warrior runs to cut the lead back from double-digits twice, as a Christine Taylor hit a pair of key 3-pointers to keep the Knights in the game. A pair of free throws from Ober gave the Warriors a 56-49 lead with 1:47 left, but the Knights hit three free throws in the next minute to make it 56-52 before a Warrior turnover led to a layup from Jackie Law with 33 seconds left.

Forced to foul, though, the Knights sent junior Erin Connaghan (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) to the line and she hit the front end of a one-and-one. A Knights’ turnover led to a foul and freshman Jessica Knott (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) iced the game with a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.

After the teams fought out to a tie at seven in the first two and a half minutes, a 3-pointer from sophomore Rachael Scheller (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) lit the Warriors on a 14-0 run that lasted six minutes, as a layup from Spencer capped the run and gave Lycoming a 21-7 lead.

"We scored in transition there," Ditzler said, "and we executed well. Julia (Antonelli) did a nice job during that time. We were just able to capitalize on some mismatches and used it to our advantage."

The Knights cut the lead to nine points with 8:39 left in the half, but the Warriors went on a 9-2 run to take a game-high lead of 16 points at 34-18 after a layup from Antonelli with 4:46 left. The Knights closed the half on a 7-2 run though to cut the lead to 11 points at the half.

Scheller added seven points, six rebounds and two assists and Knott posted six points and two rebounds. Connaghan posted just three points, but added five rebounds and a career-high tying five assists to go with two steals.

Law led the Knights with 14 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals and Taylor added 14 points and two assists. Angie Adams posted 12 points, six assists and two steals.

The Warriors wrap up their three-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 9, as they face Elizabethtown, who is tied for fifth with the Warriors, in a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader, with the women set to tip at 6 p.m. and the men set to start at 8 p.m.