GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. --  A second-half comeback came up just a little short as Gwynedd-Mercy fell Juniata, 71-69, in the season opener for both teams Monday night at the Griffin Complex.

The Griffins (0-1) battled back from a 13-point halftime deficit but could not get a scoring attempt before the final buzzer.

Senior Kristy McGrath and junior Brittany Neill each scored 25 points apiece, both career highs. McGrath grabbed a team-best eight rebounds while Neill added seven caroms, four assists, and four steals.

Juniata spun away from Gwynedd late in the first half, courtesy of an 18-2 run to go up 37-21 with just over a minute in the stanza. Neill's three-pointer made it 37-24, where it remained until halftime.

Gwynedd responded right out of the gates in the second, putting together a 15-2 spurt to knot it up a 39-39 on a 15-foot jumper from McGrath, as the Griffins shot 44% in the latter frame. But later, GM would find itself down by double digits twice, the last coming with 6:35 left.

Neill and freshman Lauren Smith later made big plays to try and start the rally. Neill's short jumper followed by a steal on the inbound from Smith, who fed a wide open Stacey Judge, put the Griffins down one, 67-66, with 2:21 left.

But a big bucket from the Eagle's Kate McDonald and a layup from Meagan Raville put Juniata up five, 71-66 with 25 ticks left.

McGrath would hit from downtown to pull GM within two. After a foul on the inbound, Juniata had a chance to ice it with two trips to the line, but after the first was no good, the second bounced out, and bounced around before Gwynedd could get their hands on it and attempt a final shot.

McDonald was one of two Eagles with a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Jen Hnatuck netted a team-high 19 points and also snared 10 boards. Raville added 13 points for Juniata (1-0). Hnatuck chipped in four blocks and two steals.

Juniata outrebounded the Griffins, 49-39, but committed 27 turnovers.

Judge grabbed seven rebounds while junior Bryn Cotteta dished out a game-high seven assists.