By Akshay Kriplani Staff writer
The Susquehanna women’s basketball team fell short on the road, as they dropped a game to conference-foe Moravian 72-66 on Jan. 28.
Junior forward Courtney Adams came off the bench to record a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Susquehanna, but she was unable to bring the River Hawks all the way back as their late comeback attempt fell short.
The River Hawks trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter, but freshman guard Rachel Sweger buried a pair of 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the game as the River Hawks trimmed the lead down to two points at 66-64 with 42 seconds left.
Senior forward Lexi Biggs-Garcia and senior guard Nikki Komara each had a layup in the late 10-3 run, but Moravian hit four free throws in the last 22 seconds to seal the victory.
Susquehanna Head Coach Jim Reed said: “The girls played a competitive game; they almost had a great come back at the end. The thing that made us lose was that in the first half we could not get our shots in to stay close enough to Moravian.”
“We did come out strong in the second half and we sunk some shots, but it still was not enough to win the game. The first half was what stopped us from winning the game.”
Adams led the River Hawks with her 16 points and 10 rebounds. Komara added 13 points, freshman guard Janine Conway had 10 points and sophomore guard Bailey Trell chipped in nine points for Susquehanna.
The big difference for Susquehanna came at the free throw line. Moravian finished the game 27-32 from the line while Susquehanna attempted seven free throws in the game.
The River Hawks were whistled for 18 fouls while the Greyhounds had just eight fouls. Two individual players for Moravian made seven free throws each to equal the total taken for the Susquehanna team.
Junior guard Tess Nichols said: “It was a very rough game for us. We totally could have won that game. We also need to keep running our plays like we know how to and be a better fourth quarter team.”
After a tough month of January, during which the team dropped six of its eight games, the River Hawks started February with a win, defeating another conference foe in Juniata on Feb. 1.
The 72-56 Susquehanna victory was underscored by a standout performance from junior forward Courtney Adams, who recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds in just her second start of the 2016-2017 season.
The victory also marked the second-highest point total of the season for the River Hawks.
Trell also added 15 points for the River Hawks as well as a team-leading five assists.
After an evenly matched first quarter, Susquehanna began to pull away in the second, at one point holding a 22-9 lead.
With Susquehanna’s defense playing at the top of its game, Juniata was limited to just 33 percent shooting and only 22 percent from the 3-point line.
Despite the teams January woes, the team still boasts a record of 13-7, thanks to a stellar start to the season that saw them earn wins in 10 of their first 11 games, including an undefeated December.
The Susquehanna women’s basketball team will be back home against Goucher on Feb. 4 for Pepsi Day and Play for Kay Day, which will help raise awareness for women and families battling breast cancer.
