ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – A career-high 11 points from junior Erin Connaghan (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) helped spark the Lycoming College women's basketball team, which shot a solid 48 percent (20-for-42) from the floor en route to a 65-58 Commonwealth Conference win at Elizabethtown on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at Thompson Gymnasium.
Besides Connaghan, who also added six rebounds and two assists to go with her first career double-figure game, the Warriors were aided by 16 points and six rebounds from freshman Julia Antonelli (Hanover, Pa./New Oxford) and 15 points, four assists, two blocks and seven boards from senior Kaitlyn Ober (Lititz, Pa./Warwick).
The Warriors' defense turned in its finest effort of the season, holding the Blue Jays (9-6 overall, 2-4 Commonwealth) to just 23 percent (14-for-62) from the floor and 22 percent (7-for-32) from beyond-the-arc. It was the second time in four games the Warriors (6-10 overall, 2-3 Commonwealth) held an opponent to less than 30 percent from the field.
With a two-point lead heading into the second half, the Warriors quickly extended the lead to nine points, with a layup from Ober starting a pair of back-and-forth buckets before a trey from sophomore Rachael Scheller (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) led to a pair of layups from Connaghan and gave the Warriors a 40-31 lead five minutes into the half.
Lycoming extended the lead to 14 points after Elizabethtown cut the deficit to five points a pair of times, with a 3-pointer from Jessica Knott (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) giving the Warriors their first double-digit lead at 52-40 with 7:07 left and a pair of free throws from Antonelli extended it to 14 points a moment later.
The Blue Jays, who had won two in a row against the Warriors and four of six since Lycoming joined the Commonwealth in 2007-08, then used the free throw line to cut the lead down, hitting nine free throws during a 12-6 run to make it 58-51 with 3:15 left. The Warriors, however, kept it a two-possession game the rest of the way thanks to their use of the charity stripe, as they hit 5-of-6 from the line in the final minute of the game to keep the Blue Jays three possessions away.
The Warriors' offense worked smoothly out of the gate, scoring the first six points on three shots and a steal, as Antonelli, Connaghan and Ober each posted buckets. After a 3-pointer ended the run, Ober added another layup before a pair of Lycoming turnovers helped the Blue Jays tie the game at eight.
However, the Warriors kept running, with a 7-0 run, keyed by a 3-pointer from sophomore Leeann Randall (Audobon, Pa./Methacton) to take a 17-10 lead with 12:30 left. The Blue Jays cut the lead into a one-possession game seven minutes later at 23-21 and a free throw made it a one-point game, but a 3-pointer from junior Chelsea Shearer (East York, Pa./Dallastown) kept the Warriors in control. The Blue Jays closed back within a point at 28-27 with 29 seconds left in the half, but a free throw from Randall with eight seconds left sent the Warriors to the locker room with a 29-27 lead, their first halftime lead since taking a three-point lead into the game at Marywood on Jan. 4.
Scheller posted six points and Shearer and Knott each posted five points and five rebounds for the Warriors, who also shot a solid 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) from the line.
Kaity Snider posted 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Jays and both Nadine Yunginger and Megan Strohman added 11 points, with Yunginger posting five steals. Stephanie Ellwood added nine points, eight rebounds and five steals.
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they host Commonwealth Conference foe Alvernia in a key matchup set for 1 p.m. at Lamade Gym.