After clinching its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division title in school history Wednesday, the Shippensburg University women’s basketball team rolled Cheyney University Saturday, 73–45.
Balance has been the foundation of this team during its current 17-game win streak. Once again, SU’s starting five spread the love with all starters breaking double digits in points. Lauren Gold was lethal from the 3-point line, sinking five 3’s from beyond the arc. The Raiders punished the Wolves from the outside all game long, shooting better than 50 percent from 3-point range.
Logan Snyder was just as dangerous passing as she was shooting. Snyder’s six assists led the team, but her consistent scoring has frustrated teams all season long.
Colleen Young added 11 points in the win, inching toward being the fifth player on the team to break the 1,000-point mark. Young sits just 20 points shy with one regular-season game left before playoffs begin.
The starting five were not the only players to contribute in the big win as Haley Scullion, who has been Coach Kristy Trn’s go-to shutdown player off the bench, shot 75 percent and tacked on a pair of steals in the win.
“It was great, but all of our seven seniors played exceptionally well. Haley came out and shot very well from the floor, and as always, played outstanding defense for us,” Trn said. “That starting five I think they’ve been doing this all season long, they’ve been very unselfish and I think that’s why they put themselves in the position that they’re in right now.”
Saturday’s convincing victory comes more than two months after the team’s last loss, with the Raiders building momentum each game. Shippensburg had 12 players take the court Saturday and each contributed to SU’s 28-point win. With that confidence, the group has high expectations for the PSAC tournament and beyond.
“They set these goals for themselves at the beginning of the season and we hit a little bit of a rough patch early on in our Western division schedule and non-conference, and they didn’t let it stop them,” Trn said. “They stuck together, they worked some things out, and they’ve just been on a roll ever since.”
Logging win after win has catapulted Shippensburg up in the standings. SU will have home-court advantage in the quarterfinals of the PSAC tournament. With the top seed in the East locked up, the Raiders turn their attention to East Stroudsburg University for the team’s final match of the season.
“We just want to focus one game at a time and not talk about streaks, but East Stroudsburg’s up next. Let’s go take them and hopefully end the division undefeated,” Trn said. “They just keep saying, ‘We’re not done yet, we’re not done yet.’”
Looking forward, Shippensburg is set to host an undetermined team, but its active win streak puts them in a good position to advance. The PSAC Tournament will begin Monday, Feb. 27, at Heiges Field House.
With seven seniors, SU is primed and motivated to take the PSAC by storm and to leave its legacy.
The Raiders will conclude the 2016-17 regular season on Wednesday at East Stroudsburg University. SU will look to secure home-court advantage for multiple rounds in the PSAC Tournament. The highest remaining seed in the East will host the tournament.
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