LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The LHU women's basketball team (4-3, 2-1 PSAC) handed Seton Hill (6-1, 2-1 PSAC) their first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, downing the Griffins 70-61 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup.
The Griffins jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but the tide quickly turned when freshman Marena Lonardi (Elizabethtown, Pa. / Elizabethtown) entered off the bench, igniting the Bald Eagles offense. Lonardi got the scoring started with four consecutive points, and Lock Haven quickly took a 10-9 lead after a trio of Bald Eagles added to the scoreboard. Seton Hill would regain the lead, but not for long as a pair of free throws and a jumper from Rileigh Devine (Etters, Pa. / Red Land) gave LHU a 14-12 lead. The Bald Eagles continued to stay ahead of Seton Hill, taking a 18-14 lead in to the second quarter.
Lock Haven was unrelenting as the offense exploded in the second quarter. With three minutes left in the half, Lock Haven held a 12-point deficit over the previously undefeated Griffins, as Devine made it 36-24. Seton Hill would close the lead to just four points, but LHU still took a 38-34 lead in to the half.
Juniors Ahnera Parker (Lancaster, Pa. / J.P. McCasky) and Jaynelle Robinson (Williamsport, Pa. /Williamsport (Monroe CC)) dominated the third, scoring 18 of the Bald Eagles 20 points in the period. Parker kicked off the quarter with a successful layup and free throw before Robinson stringed together six points to put LHU up 47-37. Nine more points from Parker and two from Bink Redman (York, Pa. /William Penn) gave the Bald Eagles a 58-43 lead going into the final period of play.
A jumper from Taylor Leidy (Alexandria, Pa. /Juniata Valley) at the start of the fourth pushed Lock Haven's lead to 15 points, the largest deficit anyone has held over the Griffins so far this season. Seton Hill did their best to fight back in the fourth, but it was no match for LHU as they stifled the Griffins to take the 70-61 victory.
Parker led the Bald Eagles with 24 points, adding five rebounds and two steals, while Devine and Leidy both tallied in the double digits, notching 13 and 10 respectively. Redman and Robinson both added eight rebounds as Robinson increased her PSAC-leading rebound total to 77.
As a team, Lock Haven held the Griffins to their lowest field goal percentage (.324) and three-point field goal percentage (.167) on the season. Seton Hill's leading scorer, Cheyenne Trist, was held to just eight points, only the second time this season she has been held to single digits.
UP NEXT:
The Bald Eagles return to action next Sunday, Dec. 15, when they travel to Pittsburgh to face Carlow University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
