EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon, falling 67-65 in the final seconds to Shepherd in a PSAC East game at Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Warriors dropped to 7-13 overall and 5-10 in the conference following their third straight loss while the Rams snapped a three-game losing streak to the Warriors to improve to 6-14 on the season and 4-11 in the PSAC East.
With the score tied at 65-65, Shepherd's Kara Wehner knocked down an elbow jumper to give the Rams a two-point lead with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock. ESU had a chance to tie or win the game as the Warriors advanced to ball past midcourt, but a Rams' deflection on the inbound pass ultimately ended the game.
Junior
Izzy Vogel tallied a career-high 25 points, hitting 10-for-20 from the field which included a trio of three-pointers, to go along with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Junior
Emily Chmiel notched double doubles in back-to-back games and for the fourth of the season as the Doylestown native finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
Today's contest served as the second annual "Salute to Women's Sports" in honor of National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) as well as the Warriors' Mental Health Awareness Game.
The athletic department honored its 14 women's athletics programs - acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, volleyball and wrestling throughout the day.
Notables
- Gwenn Sabato provided a spark off the bench in the fourth quarter as the senior scored 11 points, going 2-for-3 from long distance and 5-for-6 at the free throw line, while adding one rebound and one steal in seven minutes
- Playing all 40 minutes for the second time this season, senior Carley Adams totaled seven points, six rebounds and one steal
- Junior Katie Geisler added five points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal
- For the sixth time this season Corrin Gill played all 40 minutes as the junior finished with two points, seven assist, two rebounds and a steal
- Shepherd had five players finish in double figures which included a double-double from Carmaya Bowman on 16 points and 13 rebounds while Peyton Grant (13), Sydney Bolles (12), Wehner (11) and Jordan Carr (10) each had 10+ points
- The Rams shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the floor, 38.5 percent (5-13) beyond the arc for the game and 80 percent (8-10) at the free throw
- ESU finished 36.7 percent (22-60) overall and 38.5 percent (5-13) from three-point range while shooting 80 percent (16-20) at the charity stripe
- The Warriors finished with the edge in rebounds (39-30), offensive rebounds (20-10) and points in the paint (32-22)
- Points off turnovers proved to me the difference as Shepherd turned 15 ESU miscues into 18 points
- Shepherd defeated ESU for the third time in program history since joining the conference and first time since February 19, 2022
How It Happened
- The back-and-forth started from the opening tip as the Warriors took a 9-6 lead over Shepherd headed into the media timeout. Out of the break, ESU edged the Rams by two points (11-9) the rest of the first quarter to extend the advantage to 20-15.
- Shepherd came out on fire to start the second quarter as the Rams scored eight of the first 10 points to grab their first lead at 23-22. The Warriors answered with a 4-0 spurt in 33 seconds to go back ahead 26-23, but five quick points from the Rams helped them regain a 28-26 edge. ESU closed out the half by tallying five of the last seven points to take a 31-30 lead at the break.
- Shepherd's Bowman knocked down a layup to get the second half underway (32-31), but the Warriors responded with a 9-2 spurt over the next two minutes to secure a 40-34 lead. However, the Rams wrapped up the third quarter on a 16-4 run during the final 6:05 to grab a 50-44 edge.
- Shepherd maintained a six-point lead at 54-48 with 7:11 remaining in the game but Sabato helped spark a 7-2 run for ESU with back-to-back triples to get the Warriors within one at 56-55. The Rams drew up a scoring play out of a timeout to make it 58-55, until four three throws from ESU gave the Warriors a 59-58 lead. With the score deadlocked at 61-61 and 1:20 left on the clock, Shepherd's Wehner knocked down a three-pointer to go ahead but the Warriors answered with four of the next five points as Vogel reverse layup ultimately tied it at 65-65. In the closing seconds, Wehner iced the game for the Rams with a pull-up jumper.
Up Next
ESU gets a week off in between games as the Warriors welcome West Chester next Saturday to Koehler Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. The game will serve as ESU's annual Alumni Day and Stacy Perryman Game
