After a back and forth first half, the Shippensburg University women’s basketball team used a spectacular fourth quarter to blow by the Rams of Philadelphia University, 67–44 at Heiges Field House.

The Raiders put forth a tremendous final quarter, using a strong offensive attack while smothering the Rams on defense to post a 23–6 advantage in the game’s final frame. Philadelphia shot just 1-of-10 in the fourth quarter.

SU only surrendered the lead once, leading for most of the contest. A 3-pointer by Colleen Young with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter gave SU a commanding 58–43 lead.

“There in the third into the fourth quarter we did a much better job defensively containing their penetration to the basket,” coach Kristy Trn said. “We did a great job boxing out and didn’t give them second opportunities. We did a great job owning the rebound stat.”

The Raiders commanded the game right from the opening tip, as the Raiders marched to a quick 8–0 lead to start out the contest. Haley Scullion and Young both scored four points in the game’s first few minutes. SU took a 16–11 advantage after the first quarter.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with the Rams scoring 14 points to SU’s 13. The Raiders went into the locker room with a 29­–25 lead.

The second half belonged to SU. The Raiders, coming off four consecutive losses, were determined to not let this game slip away.

In the third quarter, the rebound advantage began to benefit SU. The Raiders used a 44–26 rebounding margin to start pushing past Philadelphia. The Raiders were also able to get to the free-throw line, shooting 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, it seemed like the Raiders could not miss. The Raiders shot 9-of-14 from the field in the quarter, and completely dominated the rest of the way.

“We got great points of the bench from Morgan Griffith, and Colleen Young had a great game for us today as well as Steph Knauer pulling down rebounds for us,” Trn said.

For SU, Young led the way with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Young was 3-of-5 from 3-point range and added four rebounds and two assists. Griffith was strong for SU as well, scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds and two steals in just 17 minutes of play. Knauer added four points, 13 boards, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

With the win, the Raiders earned their sixth win of the season to improve to 6–5. Trn however, knows there is a lot of work left to be done.

“Still I don’t think that we have reached our potential offensively and have clicked as a unit, but once we do we will have nights where anyone can go off,” Trn said.

The win however, snaps a four-game losing streak and should give the Raiders some confidence heading into conference play. The Raiders wrapped up its non-conference schedule with Philadelphia, and will now look to battle in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), starting with PSAC East rival Kutztown University.

“It’s always good coming off a win after having four straight losses, getting a win should help with really a new season with division play coming up. They will be ready to go,” Trn said.

SU opens conference play Dec. 30 against Kutztown University. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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