The Shippensburg University basketball team played its best half of the season on its way to a 74–47 thrashing of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division rival Mansfield University Jan. 9.
It was also a night of milestones, as Morgan Griffith became just the third player in SU history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.
The Raiders limited the Mountaineers to 16 first-half points and capitalized off turnovers while taking advantage of second chances, scoring 23 points off turnovers and 16 second chance points in the win.
By the end of the first quarter, the Raiders were already ahead 19–8, and SU held a 37–16 lead at the break. The 16 points SU allowed in the first half were the fewest it has allowed in a half all season.
The Raiders kept the Mountaineers in check the rest of the game, reeling off their fifth-consecutive victory.
In the game, SU had four players finish in double-figures, while Colleen Young finished with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and 2-of-3 shooting from deep.
Logan Snyder scored 12 points and added a career-high seven assists and three steals. Stephanie Knauer finished with 10 points, while reserves Victoria Blackburn and Kristin McGeough each added eight points. Blackburn tied career-highs of four rebounds and three steals.
With a rebound with 5:55 left in the third quarter, Griffith grabbed her 1,000th rebound to join elite company. Griffith joined Lauren Beckley (2,407 points, 1,151 rebounds) and Ashley Totedo (2,050 points, 1,489 rebounds) as the third member of the exclusive club. Beckley is the PSAC’s all-time leading scorer, while Totedo is SU’s all-time leading rebounder.
“Starting with 1,000 points, I never thought that I would score 1,000 points,” Griffith said. “Once I saw that and saw that 1,000 rebounds was possible it was kind of what I wanted more. It kind of meant more to me than the points but knowing how few people got it made it that much more special.”
Griffith also said how crucial her teammates have been to her success.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Griffith said. “They were so excited for me and it was awesome.”
Upon reaching 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, SU coach Kristy Trn called a timeout for the team to celebrate Griffith’s accomplishment. Griffith’s career mark was then announced to the crowd at Decker Gymnasium.
“It was nice, I didn’t think that they would announce it when coach called the timeout and them doing that was nice,” Griffith said. “Just knowing and hearing my teammates on the bench and seeing how excited they got made it so awesome.”
The team now, having won five straight, looks to continue its winning ways against PSAC East Division teams. The Raiders improved to 3–0 in PSAC East Division play thus far.
“It was a big thing we focused on after break. We kind of thought of it as a new season,” Griffith said. “Obviously, we weren’t doing as well as we wanted to do, but coming out of break it was something we really wanted to do and we’re just going to keep rolling with it.”
The Raiders, now 10–5, 5–4 PSAC, return home for a game against rival West Chester University. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
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