At halftime, the Shippensburg University women’s basketball team held a slim seven point lead over Kutztown University but a dominant second half propelled the Raiders to an 81–52 victory over the Golden Bears.
The Raiders (17–8, 11–4) fell behind KU early in the game when the Golden Bears scored the first two buckets of the game. The game was back-and-forth for the majority of the first half before SU’s Logan Snyder converted a lay-up to give the Raiders their first lead of the game, 19–18.
KU regained the lead a few moments later but the Raiders retaliated when Morgan Griffith knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Raiders back on top, 22–20 with just over five minutes left in the half.
Griffith’s 3-pointer sparked an SU 15–7 run, which included the Raiders going 4-for-8 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, to close out the half.
The Raiders made the most of the Golden Bears’ mistakes, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the first half.
The second half was dominated by the Raiders. Stephanie Knauer got the Raiders going when she finished off a pass from Caitlyn Deeter to start the second half.
SU opened the half with a 21–9 run while forcing six Golden Bear turnovers.
KU attempted to get back into the game but the Raiders shut down any hopes of a Golden Bear comeback.
The Raiders managed to extend their lead to as much as 31 points during the second half.
The Raiders dominated the paint on Saturday afternoon, especially in the second half. The Raiders tallied 36 points in the paint throughout Saturday’s game. SU also dominated the boards, collecting 50 rebounds, the second most team rebounds this season. The Raiders converted those rebounds into 21 points.
Three Raiders scored in double digits during the Raiders 11th PSAC victory.
Knauer led the way for the Raiders with her seventh double-double of the season. The sophomore forward finished with 19 points on 8-of-13 from the field to go along with her 13 rebounds.
Sarah Strybuc followed Knauer with 16 points, making four of her six field goal attempts while knocking down all six of her free-throw attempts.
Griffith notched her ninth career double-double against KU, notching 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Raiders will now return to Heiges Field House to round out the regular season against Millersville University on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
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