Box Score
EAST STROUDSBURG - Senior forward Jackie Yandrisevits scored 29 points and had a steal and two blocks in the final minute to lead East Stroudsburg University to a 66-62 win over Shippensburg in an important PSAC East women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.
Yandrisevits moved into second on ESU's career scoring list, passing Stacy Perryman's 1,695 points, and had eight rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Lauren Beckley had 25 points and 18 rebounds for Shippensburg in a match-up of the top two scorers in the PSAC East who both rank in the top 15 in Division II.
ESU (11-12) improves to 4-6 in the PSAC East, while Shippensburg (11-12, 5-5) lost for the fourth time in its last five games. The Warriors are now two games out of the fourth spot in the PSAC East standings with four games remaining, beginning with Wednesday's Senior Night game against Mansfield at 6 p.m.
Beckley put the Raiders ahead 51-47 with a jumper with 11:21 to go for their largest lead of the second half. ESU senior guard Keri Cahill (eight points) answered back with a three-pointer, and freshman forward Becky Hayter had a putback after three offensive rebounds for the Warriors to give her team a 52-51 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
The Raiders went back in front on a jumper by Beckley before Yandrisevits had a steal at one end and a jumper at the other to give ESU the lead for good, 54-53, with 8:10 left. She had a layup the next time down, Cahill threw in a layup at the end of the shot clock, and Yandrisevits made two free throws for a 61-55 lead to close a 14-4 run.
Beckley was 3-for-4 at the foul line over the next two minutes to close the gap to 61-58. ESU turned the ball over twice in a scramble near midcourt with a minute to go and Beckley had a look at the game-tying three-pointer, but Yandrisevits came up with the first of her two blocks in the closing seconds.
Shippensburg retained possession and Sheila Wasser missed a three, but Kaitlin Capriccio pulled down the offensive rebound with 50 seconds left. Ten seconds later, Yandrisevits jumped in front of a pass intended for Beckley and went coast-to-coast for a layup that put the Warriors ahead 63-58 with 35 second to go.
Elise Mercer brought Shippensburg within one with two buckets in the next 15 seconds, the second coming after the Warriors threw away the inbounds pass. The Raiders fouled Mel Villano with 18 seconds left, and the junior guard made both to put ESU back in front by three.
The Raiders worked to get a three-point attempt for Beckley, who was sixth in Division II at 48 percent from behind the arc entering the week, but Yandrisevits jumped out and blocked the shot with three seconds left and grabbed the game-clinching rebound.
In the first half, the game was tied at every two points from 0-0 through 12-12 before the Warriors put together an 8-2 run to take the lead, bookended by three-pointers by Yandrisevits and sophomore guard Kristen Murray. ESU eventually pushed the lead to double figures, going ahead 31-19 on a three-point play by Yandrisevits, but Beckley scored seven points in the final 2:13 and got the Raiders back within two points (34-32) at the half.
It was a one possession game either way for the first eight minutes of the second half when Beckley's jumper put Shippensburg in front by four, but the Warriors rallied down the stretch.
ESU shot just 33.8 percent for the game, but only turned the ball over 11 times and forced 24 miscues by the Raiders. Cahill and Hayter both had two steals and the Warriors had 12 as a team and held a 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
Yandrisevits was 12-of-26 from the field and 4-of-5 at the line, while Beckley was 9-of-16 overall but missed all four of her three-point attempts. She was 7-of-8 at the foul line.
The Warriors will honor Yandrisevits and Cahill before their final home game on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse. Yandrisevits will enter the game with 1,706 career points, approaching the school record of 1,733 held by Claudine Simard, while Cahill is one assist away from tying Simard for 10th in school history.
