By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College women's basketball is celebrating its 40th season and honoring alumni this Saturday, Feb. 1 at its annual Pink Game. The Eagles (9-9, 2-5 Landmark) host Scranton at 4 p.m. in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center. The contest will follow the men's 2 p.m. game against Scranton.
This is the 39th meeting all-time since the program's began competing in the 1975-76 season. Juniata trails the all-time series but has seen success under head coach Danny Young-Uhrich in recent years. Since taking the helm, she has led the Eagles to a 4-3 home record against Scranton. Juniata has won six of the last eight meetings against the Lady Royals.
The team's met earlier this year (Jan. 11) with Scranton coming away with the 75-57 win in Scranton. Sophomore Paige Dennison (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) led with a team-high 15 points and senior Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) earned a double-double of 12 points with a game-high 10 rebounds. The Lady Royals shot .510 from the floor and had four finish in double-figure points.
Scranton (15-3, 7-1 Landmark) was on a 12-game win streak before having it snapped by Moravian College on Wednesday (66-65) with last second free throws. They come into contest shooting .423 as a team averaging 74.8 points per game. The Lady Royals are being led by junior Meredith Mesaris. The forward has started every game and leads the team in points, averaging 19.7 per game. She is second in rebounds, falling behind Sarah Payonk who is second on the team in points, averaging 10.3.
All proceeds from the day will go to The Pennsylvania Pink Zone. Breast cancer survivors will receive free admission, as well as, a gift pack. The Eagle cheerleaders will be face painting prior to tipoff and fans in attendance will have a chance to win raffle and contest prizes.
Follow Your Eagles! Stay up-to-date on your Juniata College Eagles by logging onto www.juniatasports.net. And don't forget to follow us on twitter (@JuniataEagles) and on Facebook (Juniata Eagles).