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EAST STROUDSBURG – Freshman forward Allison Howard had 19 points and 14 rebounds and East Stroudsburg University rallied from a halftime deficit for the second straight game as the Warriors knocked off PSAC East co-leader Shippensburg, 71-62, on Saturday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Senior guard Halie Cintron added a career-high 13 points and junior guard Ryann Fiascki scored 12 points for the Warriors (8-7, 3-2), who overcame a 37-28 hole at intermission to outscore Shippensburg in the second half, 43-25.

ESU posted its first win over Shippensburg since 2009-10 and just its fourth since 1995-96 with Howard leading the way. She is the fourth ESU player since 2002-03, and first freshman, with at least 19 points and 14 rebounds in a game while posting her third double-double of the year.

Sarah Strybuc scored 17 points, Morgan Griffith had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Stephanie Knauer had 15 points for Shippensburg (9-5, 3-1), which was 3-0 in PSAC East competition last semester.

Junior forward Jessica Martin, who played just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, finished with four points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks. She moved into 15th in PSAC history in career blocked shots with 178.

After falling behind at halftime, the Warriors opened the second half on a 12-3 run to pull even at 40-all at the 16-minute mark of the second half. Howard and sophomore guard Melissa Poderis (eight points) both scored five points in the run.

Shippensburg held its final lead of the game, 47-46, with just under 12 minutes left before the Warriors went on a 14-1 run to take a double-digit lead.

A three-pointer by Cintron, her only field goal, gave ESU a 49-47 lead and sparked the surge. Junior forward Kelsey Murray (seven points, seven rebounds) converted a three-point play, freshman guard Rachel Falkowski scored underneath, Cintron made two free throws, Howard scored on an assist from Falkowski and Martin hit a jumper to complete the stretch, which took less than four minutes.

ESU led 60-48 with eight minutes left, but Shippensburg would cut the lead to two (63-61) with 1:30 remaining. The Warriors closed the game at the foul line and on the offensive glass. Cintron made two free throws for a 65-61 lead, then ESU built it one point at a time on free throws by Fiascki and Howard (twice) in between key offensive boards.

Cintron was 5-for-8 at the line in the final 1:14, finishing at 10-for-14 for the afternoon.

The Warriors found themselves in a similar halftime situation on Wednesday at Pitt-Johnstown, trailing 39-32 before winning 74-65 behind a big second half. They have come back from halftime deficits in four of their eight wins this season.

ESU heads to Bloomsburg (11-3, 2-2 PSAC East) on Wednesday, with the Huskies coming off an 85-82 non-conference win over Philadelphia University on Saturday.


GAME NOTES

* Howard had her third double-double of the season. She also had 12 points and 13 rebounds vs. Holy Family in her first career game, and 12 points and 12 rebounds at Virginia Union on December 14.

* Other ESU players with 19+ points and 14+ rebounds in the same game since 2002-03 are: current assistant coach DeAnna Rayam in 2009-10 (20 points, 16 rebounds at Edinboro), Jackie Yandrisevits in 2008-09 (23 points, 15 rebounds at Kutztown) and Amy Jones in 2004-05 (19 points, 14 rebounds vs. Columbia Union).

* Martin's 178 career blocks are 2nd at ESU and 15th in PSAC history. She has 41 this season, 7th in ESU history. She already ranks 3rd (76, 2011-12) and 4th (61, 2012-13) on ESU's single-season list.

* Cintron's previous career-high was 10 points at Edinboro last season. She had a season-high of nine points twice this year.

* Shippensburg entered at 22-3 vs. ESU since the 1995-96 season. Rayam had 10 points and 5 assists in ESU's last win over Shippensburg (58-55) as a senior in 2009-10.

* ESU topped 70 points in consecutive games for the first time this season. The Warriors entered among the PSAC leaders in scoring defense, field goal % and 3-point field goal % defense.