Photos by Michael Lipscomb
By Ashley Nace
The Susquehanna University Women’s Basketball team ended their historic regular season with a 79-61 win against Drew on their senior day in the O.W. Houts Gymnasium on Saturday.
The win over the Rangers put the River Hawks at a total of 21 wins on the season, and thanks to Catholic University’s loss to Scranton on Saturday, Susquehanna clinched the second overall seed in the Landmark Conference Playoffs.
Before the game, Susquehanna honored their seniors Julia Pinkert, Carley Geroge, Julia Roth and Lauren Klein with a ceremony in the final home game of the year. Each senior, accompanied by their families, was honored with jersey plaques and gifts.
The River Hawks came out big with a 24-point first quarter. Susquehanna saw contributions from all three of their seniors, with George, Pinkert, and Roth combining to score 22 points in the first.
“I mean, we have four years together, so I think there’s the chemistry on and off the court, so it’s pretty amazing,” George said about playing with her fellow seniors.
Pinkert, who sank three three-pointers in the first quarter, earned her 400th career assist on a pass to George that she was able to finish under the net.
George made several two-point shots as her teammate Roth joined in the action, scoring three more two-pointers on back-to-back drives.
The Rangers slowly made-up ground with some foul shots and efficient field goal shooting that were accompanied by a three, to trail the River Hawks 24-15 by the end of the first.
The eventful first quarter was followed by an 18-point second for Susquehanna. Maintaining the lead for the River Hawks was George with more layups, and Pinkert and Annie Greek with a pair of threes, among other valiant River Hawk efforts.
Entering the third ahead of the Rangers 42-28, the River Hawks broke into the new half to put together their second highest scoring quarter of the game.
“I mean, the energy we have throughout the entire team is amazing,” George said.
Though the Rangers continued to put up points, they couldn’t keep up with the River Hawks, who threw down another 21 points.
Roth continued her back-to-back scoring trick from the first quarter by making three layups on consecutive drives, extending
the River Hawks lead to 63-42 before the fourth quarter. The Rangers however proved to have a no-quit mentality as they came out for their highest scoring quarter of the game
Closing the gap, Drew made four threes from outside the arc, accounting for most of their 19 points in the final frame.
But the River Hawks remained resilient. Pinkert and George carried Susquehanna to the end of the game with more two-pointers.
The River Hawks were able to close it out in the fourth to beat out the Rangers, sending them home with a loss, and sending the River Hawks into the landmark conference playoffs as the second seed.
As a top two seed in the playoffs, Susquehanna will have a first–round bye and an automatic bid to the second round.
“We’re excited to keep working,” George said. “Jobs not done yet, but I think the chemistry that we have is unmatched.”
The trio of seniors led the way for the River Hawks, as Pinkert finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. George was the game high scorer with 20 points and nine rebounds, one short of a double-double, and Roth with matching tallies of 13 points and 13 rebounds for her 13th double-double.
Susquehanna’s chase for the Landmark Conference Championship starts on Thursday, February 26th where they will face the winner of Drew and Elizabethtown at O.W. Houts Gymnasium.