Lady Warriors' Comeback Bid Falls Short
Clock Runs Out on Surging Squad
Box score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- A mid second half short lapse in concentration proved enough to thwart the Lady Warriors’ bid for their second conference victory of the season as DeSales University escaped Lamade Gymnasium with a 64-60 win at Lycoming College on Wednesday evening.  The Warriors fall to 4-12 overall, 1-6 in Freedom Conference play while the Bulldogs improve to 10-8, 4-3.

After going ahead for the first time at 27-25 with 14:05 left in the second half, the Warriors committed a pair of miscues that led to seven unanswered points for DeSales.  The Bulldogs used a suffocating full-court press to fuel a 20-3 run that included several easy scores to put them up 45-30 with 9:25 left in the game.

Lycoming responded with a run of its own, pulling to within three at 52-49 following a jumper by senior Amy Kile (Muncy, Pa./Muncy) that capped the Lady Warriors’ 19-7 run with 2:41 left to play.

DeSales caught its breath and pushed its lead back out to 11 at 60-49 with 1:25 remaining on the clock.  Lycoming made one last charge with big three-point baskets coming from Kile and freshman Andrea Cooper (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg), but the clock cut short the Warriors’ effort still down four at the buzzer.

Cooper led the Lady Warriors’ attack with 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half.  Senior Danielle Kern (Lehman, Pa./Lake-Lehman) picked up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.  Kile and fellow senior Stacy Lindeman (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) pulled down a half a dozen boards apiece to go along with nine and six points, respectively.

DeSales’ Kirby Lutz led all scorers with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds.  LeighAnn Burke added 12 points while Amanda Kuperavage and Kim Rarick each chipped in 10.  Post Erica Sovak pulled down 10 boards.

Tough defense prevailed throughout the contest resulting in a combined 46 turnovers between the two squads.  DeSale’s primary defensive weapon was a well-diagramed full-court press that forced that Warriors into numerous trap situations.  On the other side, the Warriors turned the corner when they switched to a 2-3 zone that seemed to catch the hot-shooting Bulldogs by surprise.

The Lady Warriors are next in action on Saturday, January 28, when they travel to FDU-Florham for a Freedom Conference contest.  Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Madison, N.J.