HUNTINGDON, Pa.—Juniata College spoiled a record-breaking performance by University of Scranton first-year guard Alison Sweeney (Wall, N.J./Saint Rose) Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Sports & Recreation Center.
And in the process, the Eagles' 68-67 victory in overtime put them in the driver's seat for the top seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament.
All Juniata needs to do now is beat Susquehanna at home next Saturday, while Scranton will most likely end up as the number two seed regardless of the outcome of its regular-season finale against Moravian next weekend. If Susquehanna does pull off the upset and the Lady Royals beat the Lady Greyhounds at the Long Center, Scranton is the number one seed.
The loss did nothing to diminish Sweeney's effort, however, as she poured in a career-high 31 points, the most points by a Lady Royal first-year player in the program's history. She came off the bench to connect on 13 of 20 field goal attempts in 29 minutes of action. The Lady Royals, which had a season-long eight-game winning streak snapped to fall to 17-6 overall and 11-2 in the conference, also received 16 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals from senior guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional).
Freshman forward Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnance, Pa./State College Area) led the Eagles, now 18-6 overall and 11-2 in the Landmark, with 16 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore guard Natalie Glinsky (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area) and senior forward Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) finished with 14 and 11, respectively.
In a game resembling a conference final rather than a regular-season matchup, the Eagles made the plays that mattered most.
After Lady Royal senior guard Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) buried a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining in regulation to give Scranton a 61-60 lead, Eagle junior guard Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic) drew a foul with the shot-clock winding down and made one of two free throws with 13 seconds remaining to send it into overtime.
Scranton led 67-65 on a baseline jumper by sophomore forward Shernai Bentley (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) with 1:25 left in the overtime period, but Juniata sophomore guard Jordan Speck (Huntingdon, Pa./Southern Huntingdon) hit one of two free throws with 51 seconds left and following a missed Lady Royal lay-up, Hnatuck came up with a crucial offensive rebound, was fouled, and connected on two free throws with 22 seconds left to make it 68-67.
The Lady Royals had a chance to win on the final possession in both regulation and overtime, but Scranton turned the ball over on both opportunities. For the game, the Lady Royals committed miscues.
Next Saturday's game against Moravian will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. Kopecki, King and fellow seniors Colleen McLane (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) and Courtney Roselle (Cedar Grove, N.J./Mount Saint Dominic Academy) will be honored as part of Senior Day festivities prior to the game.
News & Notes: Sweeney's previous career-high was a 25-point effort against the Merchant Marine Academy on Sunday, January 9…Sweeney's 31 points is also tied for the 11th highest single-game total in Scranton history…Juniata is currently ranked third in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Newspaper Box Score
JUNIATA 68, SCRANTON 67
SCRANTON (17-6/11-2 Landmark)
Alison Sweeney 13-20 2-3 31; Megan Kopecki 5-9 5-6 16; Jennifer King 3-8 0-0 8; Shernai Bentley 2-3 2-2 6; Colleen McLane 1-5 0-0 3; Sidney Jaques 1-1 0-0 3; Courtney Roselle 0-1 0-0 0; KC Hawkes 0-0 0-0 0; Christina Hiltunen 0-0 0-0 0; Sarah Gage 0-2 0-0 0; Tayler Pallotta 0-4 0-0 0; Katie Cunningham 0-3 0-0 0; Katherine Torto 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 9-11 67.
JUNIATA (18-6/11-2 Landmark)
Kate McDonald 5-10 6-6 16; Natalie Glinsky 5-9 2-2 14; Jen Hnatuck 2-5 7-7 11; Jordan Hileman 2-5 4-4 8; Erin McGinley 3-3 0-0 6; Jordan Speck 2-8 1-3 5; Ashton Bankos 1-5 2-4 4; Alyssia Gordon 1-5 0-0 3; Paige Robertson 0-4 1-3 1; Meagan Raville 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 23-29 68.
The University of Scranton.... 28 33 6 - 67
Juniata....................... 31 30 7 - 68
3-point goals--The University of Scranton 8-22 (Alison Sweeney 3-7; Jennifer King 2-6; Megan Kopecki 1-1; Sidney Jaques 1-1; Colleen McLane 1-3; Tayler Pallotta 0-1; Katie Cunningham 0-3), Juniata 3-18 (Natalie Glinsky 2-4; Alyssia Gordon 1-3; Jordan Hileman 0-3; Jordan Speck 0-5; Paige Robertson 0-1; Meagan Raville 0-1; Kate McDonald 0-1). Fouled out--The University of Scranton-None, Juniata-None. Rebounds--The University of Scranton 34 (Megan Kopecki 9; Sarah Gage 9), Juniata 37 (Kate McDonald 10). Assists--The University of Scranton 14 (Megan Kopecki 6), Juniata 12 (Ashton Bankos 3; Kate McDonald 3). Total fouls--The University of Scranton 22, Juniata 13. Technical fouls--The University of Scranton-None, Juniata-None. A-750