The 2016-17 Shippensburg University women’s basketball team dominated, scoring 42 points in the first-half, while holding West Chester University to just 15 points on its way to a convincing 82–48 win over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division rival West Chester Jan. 11.
In the first half, the Raiders dominated, taking a 27-point lead into the break, while holding West Chester to 24 percent shooting and 0-of-10 from 3-point range.
“I thought the first half was outstanding, it was great to just be able to breathe,” SU head coach Kristy Trn said. “We didn’t have to worry possession after possession what we were doing on the floor. The team came out with the mindset of setting the tone on defense and containing and getting to shooters, and I think we did that.”
In the second quarter the Raiders’ lead expanded, as the Raiders played their best quarter of the season, holding West Chester to just five points, while scoring 23. SU pushed its lead to 38 with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter, and the game was never in doubt.
The matchup was between the first and second place teams in the PSAC East Division, with the Raiders grabbing sole-possession of the East Division in convincing fashion. It was also the Raiders sixth-straight win.
Trn believes that the team has found its stride.
“I think it has. I hope now because I want us to keep moving up,” Trn said. “I think they’ve found their togetherness. They did a great job tonight and the last few games working together with their ball movement, and really just feeding off of each other. I’m very pleased with where we are right now.”
It was also a big night for Logan Snyder, who became the 22nd player in SU history to reach 1,000 career points in the win. Snyder scored 14 points and added five assists.
“It’s pretty amazing, I did it in high school and that was a big accomplishment,” Snyder said. “I never thought I’d be here in college and get to do it again. I couldn’t have done it without my friends, teammates and coaches.”
“I think its outstanding,” Trn said. “She is one of the hardest workers we have in the program and they certainly made her work for it officiating wise out on the floor, but I am very proud of her, she deserves it.”
Upon reaching the 1,000-point mark, Snyder became the fourth member of SU’s current roster to score 1,000 points. Snyder joins Stephanie Knauer (1,460), Morgan Griffith (1,276), and Lauren Gold (1,140).
“It’s pretty awesome, I don’t think that you see many teams that have multiple players over the course of four years get 1,000 points,” Snyder said. “I think that’s pretty awesome.”
“It’s a testament to them and their ball movement and willingness to share,” Trn said. “I’m hoping we get one more 1,000-point scorer, who would be Colleen Young. She is definitely on pace after her game tonight so hopefully she will have the opportunity to reach that as well.”
Young was the Raiders leading scorer on the night, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while also pulling in a team-high eight rebounds.
With SU now sitting on top of the PSAC East, Trn believes that it is just a step in achieving the team’s goal of winning a PSAC Championship.
“It certainly is a goal, we were picked to finish first, and it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and we are certainly working toward that,” Trn said. “We’re still not wanting to focus on that until the end of the year, we just now want to take a look at Lock Haven and figure out what we need to do to continue to be successful, especially on the road.”
SU, 11–5, 6–4 PSAC, travels to Lock Haven University to battle the Eagles Jan. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Thomas Fieldhouse.
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