SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Despite outscoring Wheeling University 38-28 in the second half, the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team dropped a 68-64 decision on Saturday against the Cardinals at the Shippensburg University Conference Challenge.
 
ESU (1-1) used a strong third quarter to cut into the deficit against the Cardinals, who held a 40-26 lead at the end of the first half. Wheeling scored 23 points in the second quarter and would take a 14-point advantage into the half.
 
Senior Tiffany Lapotsky scored a season-high 20 points for the Warriors and finished the contest 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown. Redshirt sophomore Julia Kutz matched a career-high with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Senior Jordan Hertz added 19 points, five rebounds, and six assists for the Warriors.
 
Wheeling opened the contest on a 5-0 run before the Warriors rallied to knot the score 5-5 following a 3-pointer from Lapotsky. The Warriors held a 7-6 lead with 6:55 left in the quarter after senior Dominique Rayam hit a jumper. The Cardinals answered right back with a jumper of their own to make it 8-7.
 
ESU knotted the score 10-10 with just over three minutes left to play in the quarter as junior Marlene Bassett finished a layup off the fast break following a rebound by junior Abby Schoffstall. The Cardinals would build some momentum with time winding down as they went on a 7-0 run to take a 17-10 advantage with 1:01 left in the quarter.
 
The Cardinals would lead by as many as eight points early in the second quarter before ESU cut into the deficit. Hertz connected on a trey with 7:01 left in the quarter to make it 24-21 and trim the gap to a single possession.
 
ESU trailed 26-24 until Wheeling scored 11 unanswered points to make it 37-24 with just under three minutes to play in the half. The Cardinals hit a 3-pointer with under 30 seconds to play to make it 40-26.
 
Lapotsky finished a layup with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter to cut the Wheeling advantage to single-digits (40-32). The Warriors cut the deficit to 46-41 following a jumper from Hertz with 3:56 remaining. Redshirt freshman Cassie Ksiazek connected on pair of shots at the free-throw line for the Warriors late in the quarter and cut the deficit to 50-46 before the Cardinals drained a trey with 10 seconds left to take a 53-46.
 
Junior Kaitlyn Swint finished a jumper off the fast break for the Warriors to cut the Wheeling lead to three (56-53) with 8:29 left in the fourth quarter. ESU would be as close as 60-59 following a layup from Kutz. Schoffstall and Kutz rallied the Warriors with under a minute left to play in the contest as Kutz made it 65-64 with 39 seconds left to play. The Cardinals closed the contest with three free-throws to increase the lead to 68-64 with one second left to play.
 
ESU finished the contest 24-of-59 from the field in the contest and 5-of-18 from downtown, while scoring 32 points in the paint. Wheeling shot 25-of-56 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range. The Warriors finished 11-of-17 from the charity stripe, while Wheeling went 13-of-21.