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EAST STROUDSBURG – A season-best eight-game winning streak came to an end for East Stroudsburg University on Wednesday evening, as visiting Shippensburg closed the game on an 11-2 run to escape with a 65-59 victory at Koehler Fieldhouse.

Lauren Gold had 13 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:42 remaining for the Raiders (23-5, 18-4 PSAC), who extended their own winning run to 18 games. Junior guard Imani Brown led all scorers with 17 points for the Warriors (17-8, 13-8 PSAC).

Four Shippensburg players ended the night in double figures, with Stephanie Knauer leading the way with 14 points. The Raiders had won each of their previous 17 games during the run by 10+ points, and they had not trailed by more than three points in a contest since Jan. 6 against Bloomsburg (a span of 13 games).

ESU had an 18-12 edge at the end of the first quarter, with Brown and senior forward Madison Tamburini totaling seven points apiece to lead the offense early on. The Warriors hit 3 of 6 attempts from 3-point range in the opening 10 minutes, and Brown and senior guard Rachel Falkowski each converted from long distance in the opening 70 seconds of the second quarter to up the margin to 24-12 and force a quick Shippensburg timeout.

After a brief run by the visitors, a 3-pointer by senior guard Courtney Brown put ESU back ahead by double digits at 31-21 with 4:16 remaining in the half. The Raiders, though, closed on a 14-2 run to take a 35-33 lead into the intermission.

The two teams combined for six points in the first six minutes of the third quarter. The Warriors tied the score up at 41-41 on an Imani Brown layup with 2:36 on the clock, and they would enter the fourth trailing by just one at 47-46.

Sophomore guard Noelle Powell sank a layup on the opening possession of the quarter to give the home side its first lead of the half, and less than four points would continue to separate the two sides until the closing seconds.

Senior forward Allison Howard had seven of her 10 points in the fourth, including a 5-0 stretch capped by a pair of free throws which put ESU ahead 57-54 with 3:36 left. Ship responded with a 3-pointer by Colleen Young on its next possession, and Gold sank the go-ahead long ball on the next trip down.

The Raider lead was 62-59 with 1:13 remaining. The Warriors had a chance to tie it with just under a minute to play, but a 3-pointer was off the mark and the visitors made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Shippensburg hit 21 of 24 shots from the charity stripe in the contest, while ESU was limited to only five attempts from the free throw line. The Raiders also had a 40-25 advantage in rebounds (9-1 on the offensive end), with Young and Morgan Griffith each grabbing 10 boards apiece.

Imani Brown hit 7 of 14 shots from the field while additionally leading the team with six rebounds. She reached double figures for an eighth time in the last nine games and an 18th time overall this year. Freshman guard Jordan Hertz chipped in a season-high three blocks and two steals.

The Warriors are still locked in to the No. 2 spot in the PSAC East standings, with a home quarterfinal contest scheduled for 7 p.m. next Wednesday. ESU concludes the regular season portion of its schedule at Mansfield (5-20, 3-18 PSAC) on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m.