First Half Struggles Doom Lady Raiders in 68-61 Loss to Bentley
Dec. 30, 2006
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Bentley forced 15 turnovers
and held Shippensburg to just 39.1-percent shooting in the first half while
holding off a late Lady Raider rally en route to a 68-61 victory in the
championship game of the 2006 Division II Surf N' Slam Tournament held
at San Diego City College's Harry King Gymnasium on Saturday.
Bentley (9-3), who led 33-22 at halftime, won its fourth-straight while
snapping the Lady Raiders' four-game winning streak.
In the first half, Shippensburg (7-5) made just 9-of-23 attempts and trailed
by as many as 13 points while 24 of the Falcons' 33 points came in the
paint and 14 came off Lady Raider turnovers. Vanessa Lux, who was named
tournament MVP, scored 10 of her career-high 16 points in the half as Bentley
shot 55.6-percent from the floor.
In the second half, Shippensburg made eight of its first 10 attempts from
the field while holding the Falcons to just 5-of-12 shooting as they opened
the half on a 27-14 run to take its first lead, 49-47 on a 15-foot jumper
from the left wing by freshman forward Lauren Beckley (Fairfield/Fairfield) with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Beckley's jumper was the final two points of nine consecutive tallied by
the team's leading scorer to give her team its first lead of the game.
After being held to just five points on 2-of-7 shooting in the first half,
she finished the game with a team-high 14 points to go along with a game-high
seven rebounds and four steals.
For her efforts, Beckley was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging
22 points and nine rebounds over the two-day event. Joining her from Shippensburg
was senior center Shanna Oaddams (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) who added
13 points, five rebounds and three blocks this afternoon.
With the score tied at 49-49, the Lady Raiders were whistled for a technical
foul for an illegal substitution which led to the Falcons hitting 1-of-2
free throws to go back in front by one, 50-49. However, the made free throw
by Lauren Moore was the first of five-straight points for Bentley as it
went ahead 54-49 with 8:32 remaining.
From there, Shippensburg would get no closer than three points the rest
of the way as it finished the game hitting only two of its final 10 attempts
from the floor after starting the half 15-of-20.
Junior guard Megan Fogle (Wrightsville/Eastern York) also added 13 points
for the Lady Raiders while Shannon Kirwan and Moore scored 18 and 15 points,
respectively for the Falcons who outrebounded Shippensburg, 31-25.
The Lady Raiders will return to Shippensburg on Sunday and continue play
on Saturday, January 6 when they travel to West Chester for a PSAC crossover
contest that begins at 1:00 p.m.
- Lady Raider Basketball -
