EAST STROUDSBURG – A 15-point lead wouldn't be enough for the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team as the Shippensburg Raiders rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warriors, 70-68, on Saturday at Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
ESU (10-5, 6-3 PSAC) had its five-game winning streak snapped as the Warriors matched a streak that was last accomplished during the 2017-18 season. The Warriors dropped just their second contest this season when holding a lead at the end of the opening half.
 
Senior Tiffany Lapotsky finished the contest with a team-high 19 points and passed Jessica Martin for 10th all-time in program history with 1,217 career points as she went 6-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Senior Jordan Hertz finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to go along with six assists, while junior Kaitlyn Swint added 10 points and eight boards.
 
Both sides would struggle to find their offensive touch in the first quarter as the Warriors and Raiders combined to go 9-of-33 from the field. The Raiders struggled from deep in the first quarter, connecting on just one of their seven 3-point attempts. ESU tallied the first points of the contest before Shippensburg answered with a 6-0 run to gain momentum with 6:26 left on the clock.
 
The Warriors rallied to knot the score 6-6 as Swint hit a pair of shots at the charity stripe with 5:53 left in the quarter. The Raiders opened a 10-6 advantage late in the quarter before ESU worked to even the score and take a 13-12 advantage into the second. Hertz finished a layup in the paint while being fouled but would miss out on converting the old-fashioned 3-point play.
 
ESU opened the second quarter on a 3-0 run to take a 16-12 lead following a free-throw from Lapotsky. Ariel Jones knotted the score 16-16 with 7:49 left in the half as she connected on one of her two attempts.
 
Leading 19-18, junior Kiersten Librizzi provided the ESU offense with some momentum as she tallied five unanswered points to make it 24-18. She ended the half with a layup for the Warriors to make it 26-22 heading into the half.
 
The Warriors seemed to find their offensive touch in the third quarter as Hertz hit back-to-back buckets to give ESU a 34-26 lead with 7:04 left on the clock. Shippensburg trimmed the deficit to 34-29 before the Warriors used a 6-0 run after consecutive treys from Lapotsky and Hertz to extend the lead to 11. A layup from Swint with 3:02 left in the quarter gave ESU a 47-32 advantage. Shippensburg closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to trim the gap to 51-42.
 
Trailing 53-43 with 9:13 left in the fourth, the Raiders mounted a comeback as a 7-0 run cut the gap to 53-50 following a layup from Aunbrielle Green. The Raiders hit their lone trey of the contest with 5:03 left on the clock to pull within a point of the Warriors, 57-56.
 
The lead for Shippensburg stretched to five with 1:16 left on the clock after a layup from Green would drop to make it 66-61. ESU would not be finished as Lapotsky drained a 3-ball with just 23 ticks left on the clock to cut the deficit to 67-66. Hertz gave the Warriors a 68-67 lead with a pair of shots at the line before Destiny Jefferson tallied the eventual game-winning shot with 11 seconds left.
 
ESU will head to Shepherd on Wednesday for a PSAC East matchup beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Warriors will look to get back into the win column with their first conference tilt against the Rams.