Torrid First Half Leads Lady Raiders to 90-74 Victory Tuesday at Bloomsburg
Dec. 18, 2007
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Sophomore
forward Lauren Beckley (Fairfield/Fairfield) scored 18 of her game-high
25 points in the first half while the Lady Raiders shot 70 percent from
the floor as the Shippensburg University women's basketball team scored
51 first half points en route to a 90-74 victory over Bloomsburg Tuesday
night at Nelson Field House.
The 90 points was a season-high for the Lady Raiders (8-1) who won their
seventh-straight contest after hitting 21-of-30 field goal attempts in the
first half. Prior to Tuesday night, Shippensburg's season-high in points
was 89 set in an 89-71 victory over Tiffin at home in the season-opener on
November 16. The 90 points were also the most the team has scored since it
scored 93 in a 93-72 victory at Kutztown on Dec. 2, 2006.
Ironically, the Lady Raiders' 51 points also tied a season-high for a half
set in the second half of a 76-65 victory against East Stroudsburg at home
on December 2.
For Beckley, her stellar season and career continues as she notched her seventh
double double in nine games this season with 25 points and 11 rebounds, both
game highs. It was also her 14th double double in 37 career games and the
18th time she has tallied at least 20 points in a game.
Entering this week's play, Beckley ranked first in the conference in scoring
and third in rebounding, averaging 21.1 points and 9.6 rebounds. Her performance
came in a marquee matchup against Bloomsburg's Colleen Kegerreis who entered
this week ranked sixth in the PSAC in scoring and sixth in rebounding, averaging
15.3 points and 10.4 rebounds.
Kegerreis finished with 22 points and five rebounds.
Shippensburg blew the game open in the first half, leading by as many as
20 points, with its blistering shooting percentage that included the team
hitting on 5-of-8 three-point attempts, four of which came from Beckley.
In addition to Beckley's 18 points, junior forward Elise Mercer (Bishopville,
Md./Stephen Decatur) added 14, just two shy of her career-high of
16 set against Pittsburgh-Johnstown earlier this season on November 29. Together,
Beckley and Mercer totaled 32 of the team's 51 first half points and combined
to shoot 13-of-16 from the floor.
Mercer would finish the game with a career-high 17 points along with six
rebounds, one short of her career best. She and Beckley highlighted four
Lady Raiders in double figures which included freshman forward Kasey
Gardner (Sharpsville/Sharpsville) who had a career-high 19 points, 15 of which came
in the second half, five rebounds and career-high four assists.
Sophomore guard Michelle Metz (Pottstown/Pottsgrove) rounded out those in
double figures as she totaled 11 points while raking in a season-high six
assists, one short of her career-high. In nine games this season, she has
had five or more assists in five contests.
Senior guard Megan Fogle (Roaring Spring/Eastern York) had a strong all-around
performance with seven points, six rebounds and five assists. As a team,
Shippensburg totaled a season-high 22 assists on 37 field goals.
The Lady Raiders play the second of back-to-back PSAC crossovers on Wednesday
when they travel to Mansfield for a 5:30 p.m., tip-off against the Mountaineers.
That game can be heard live on Shippensburg University student radio station
WSYC 88.7 FM as well as on the internet at raiders.ship.edu beginning at
5:25 p.m.
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Lady Raider Basketball -
