Greensburg, Pa. - Down 19 points in the final minute of the third quarter, the Millersville University women's basketball team came back to make it a two-point game late in the fourth quarter, but were unable to complete the comeback as it lost at Seton Hill, 84-77.
Lauren Lister led the team in scoring for the fourth-consecutive game, notching 24 points, including 11 in the final period.
Millersville falls to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play, with the Griffins improve to 4-2 and 1-1 in conference play.
The Marauders began the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run to pull within six. The Griffins gave themselves some breathing room with a 3-pointer from Megan Marecic and one successful free throw by Courtney Cecere to extend their lead to 74-64. An 8-0 run by Millersville, during which Seton Hill turned the ball over three times, including a steal by
Atiya McDonald immediately following a layup by Lister that she turned into a layup of her own, brought it within two. The Griffins held off the surging Marauders, finishing the game on a 10-5 run to hold on for the victory.
"The intensity we played with in the fourth quarter is where we need to play at more often," head coach
Mary Fleig said. "The unit we had out there in the fourth quarter did a great job. They put on more of a press and got our running game going."
Seton Hill began the game strong with a 9-0 run and led by as many as 13 in the opening quarter. Millersville came back to tie the game early in the second period and the two teams exchanged the lead three times during just over three minutes of play. Leading just 30-29 halfway through the period, the Griffins finished the quarter on a 13-8 run to bring a six-point lead into halftime.
Seton Hill began the third period on a 12-2 run and eventually outscored the Marauders 25-14 in the quarter.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
• "The performance of our bench was a really big positive from this game.
Catherine Copeland played the best game we have seen from her since she came to Millersville, which was really good to see."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Millersville bench contributed a season-high 40 points, thanks in large part to
Olivia Mottern and
Catherine Copeland who each set a new career high in points with 14 and 12, respectively. Copeland also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds and went 5-for-5 from the floor.
• The Griffins entered the match having allowed just 60.8 points per game to their opponents, fifth fewest in the PSAC, and held their opponents to a 24.7 shot percentage from beyond the arch. The Marauders shot 33.3 percent (6-for-18) on 3-point attempts.
• Both teams scored 18 points off turnovers, with Millersville turning the ball over 14 times while Seton Hill did so 15 times.
• The Griffins did a lot of their damage in the paint, recording 44 points there compared to the Marauders' 36.
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Kendra Bamberger grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, the fourth time this season she has tallied double-digit boards.
• Four players on Seton Hill scored in double-digits: Cheyenne Trest (24), Lexi Civittolo (16), Megan Marecic (12) and Katie Nolan (11).
NOTES
• This marks the Griffins' first win at home over Millersville and their first win against the Marauders since 1991.
• Millersville now leads the all-time series against Seton Hill, 3-2.
• This marks the Marauders' smallest margin of defeat this season.
• Millersville begins its season with a 0-3 record in conference play for the first time since 2015-16.
UP NEXT
• The Marauders' next game will not be for 10 more days. They will continue PSAC play on the road when they travel to Clarion on Tuesday, Dec 18 for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.
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