Women Can’t Hold on for the Win over USMMA

Box Score

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna women’s basketball team could not hold on to a seven-point halftime lead and ultimately fell 66-61 to USMMA on Sunday afternoon, giving SU a league split for the weekend.

The Crusaders (4-10, 1-2) struggled to put the ball in the basket, shooting just 28 percent from the field, 18 percent from three-point range and 58 percent at the charity stripe.

Korey McCaffrey (Millheim, Pa./Penns Valley Area) led the team with 15 points, with nine from beyond the arc, to go along with four boards, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Joining her in double figures was Gina Palazzi (Newfoundland, Pa./Wallenpaupack), who had back-to-back double-double performances with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

SU did force 24 USMMA (3-7, 1-2) turnovers which led to 19 Susquehanna points.

After just over three minutes of play in the opening half, USMMA held a 4-3 lead and went ahead by three (6-3) just 30 seconds later.

Two Samantha Pelletier (Harwinton, Conn./Lewis S. Mills) free throws at the 15:25 mark gave SU a 7-6 edge and with 14:07 to play, the Crusaders went ahead for good in the half courtesy of two Jonaida Williams (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Twp.) free throws that made it 9-8.

Susquehanna led by six points, 18-12, with 6:50 to play in the half and went on to take a 28-21 lead at halftime thanks to a Palazzi layup with 22 seconds left in the half that marked the final points of the period.

The Mariners opened the second half by scoring six unanswered points to make and proceeded to make it a three-point game at 30-27 with less than 17 minutes remaining.

A three-point play by USMMA’s Tamara Kaileh with 14 minutes on the clock cut SU’s lead to one (35-34) and the Crusaders were still ahead by just one point (39-38) with 11:26 to play.

SU was able to work its lead up to six points, 50-44, with just 7:31 remaining, but a three-point play from Demi Vanderwal at the 6:16 mark knotted the game at 50.

Susquehanna never again held the lead. The Crusader defense did prevent the Mariners from taking no more than a seven-point lead (66-59), but with 25 seconds left, there was not enough time for SU to mount a comeback as the Crusaders ultimately fell by five, 66-61.

Susquehanna hits the road for two league games next weekend, beginning on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Catholic.