LOCK HAVEN, Pa. –A thriller in Thomas Fieldhouse saw the Lock Haven University women's basketball team (12-13, 9-12 PSAC) fall to East Stroudsburg University (4-20, 3-18 PSAC) tonight in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action.
 
From the get-go, the game was a back and forth affair. Both teams played a strong defense that made clean shots sparce.
 
Carly Fitzmorris (Hamburg, N.J./Pope John XXIII) hit a beautiful floater as the shot clock was expiring before the first media timeout of the game. That shot seemingly jump-started the LHU offense as the Bald Eagles outscored the Warriors 8-6 over the final five minutes of the quarter. At the break, Lock Haven trailed ESU 10-11.
 
As the action resumed in the second frame, the momentum ceased for both teams and the defensive efforts dominated the narrative again. The opening three minutes of the quarter saw just two points, a pair of Brooke Lawyer (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) free-throws after she was fouled attempting a lay-up. Over the final seven minutes of the half, each team exchanged a series of runs and the two teams remained locked in a dead heat. At the halftime break, Lock Haven trailed 24-20. Jaynelle Robinson (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport (Monroe CC)) dominated in the paint, notching eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
 
Out of the intermission, East Stroudsburg grew their lead to as high as nine-points but the Bald Eagles would not go away. A hard-driving Robinson layup brought the game within four, but a buzzer beating layup by East Stroudsburg pushed the deficit to six at the end of the third frame. Lock Haven would trail 31-37 heading into the final quarter.
 
With a quarter left to play, the Lock Haven contingent began to surge. Off an inbound pass in with seven minutes to play, Ahnera Parker (Lancaster, Pa./J.P. McCaskey) drew a shooting foul and drained one of her free-throws attempts to move the game within five. On the next two sequences down the floor, Robinson drew two personal fouls herself and made three of her four attempts to diminish the deficit to only two points heading into the final media timeout of the game.
 
The two squads exchanged scores before a Robinson hook shot pushed the two teams even at 44-44. ESU scored on a driving layup in the very next possession, and head coach Jennifer Smith called a timeout with 1:23 to play. Robinson powered her way out of the pause to score her 15^th and 16^th points of the game to again lock up the game at 46-46. After Robinson managed her fourth steal of the game, Lock Haven narrowly missed the game-winner, and the Lock Haven faithful were gifted with a free overtime period of basketball.
 
Over the opening minute of overtime, each team scored a pair of points, but again Robinson drew a foul and drained her two free throw attempts to push Lock Haven to their first lead since the first quarter at 50-48. The Warriors recovered their lead before a Parker free throw brough the two teams even yet again with 1:18 to play.
 
With under a minute to play, Fitzmorris drained a big three to take the lead again. ESU scored a layup to bring the game within one and Fitzmorris was sent to the line on the next possession. Fitzmorris made both of her all-important attempts and the game moved to 56-53. Out of a timeout, East Stroudsburg's Ryan Weise knocked a three-pointer of her own to lock the game up again.
 
With 6.7 seconds on the clock, an unfortunate loose ball foul allowed ESU to score a game-winning trey. ESU walked away with the 59-56 thriller.
 
Robinson finished the day with a team-high 18 points and 15 rebounds for the impressive double-double. She also added four blocks. Fitzmorris and Lawyer joined Robinson in the double-digit scoring with 12 and 13 points, respectively. Fitzmorris also added nine rebounds.
 
In all the Bald Eagles were stellar from the free-throw line shooting 71.9%.
 
 
Up Next:
 
The Bald Eagles will travel to Millersville for the regular-season finale on Saturday (February 26). Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.