EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The East Stroudsburg women's basketball team defeated Shepherd 68-65 Monday night at Koehler Fieldhouse in its PSAC East opener.
The Warriors (5-7, 2-4) trailed late in the fourth quarter but secured the victory thanks to clutch play, giving ESU their first PSAC East win of the season over Shepherd (4-10, 1-7).
Notables:
Emily Chmiel scored 33 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and recorded a block on 63.1% shooting from the floor. This marks her second consecutive game with 30 or more points and 14 or more rebounds, and her third this season. Chmiel now has nine double-doubles this season, the third most by a Warrior since 2002-03. She is also the fourth Warrior to record four straight games with 20 or more points.
Brie Droege set a career high with 15 points on 66.6% shooting and tallied three assists, two steals, and one rebound.
Lacie Kringe (pictured above) contributed eight points, five assists, two steals, three rebounds, and came up clutch down the stretch.
How It Happened:
After Chmiel tied the game at eight, East Stroudsburg closed out the first quarter on a 10-4 run, with Chmiel,
Brie Droege,
Izzy Vogel,
Katie Geisler, and
Corrin Gill all scoring to give the Warriors an 18-12 lead. Shepherd managed to chip away at ESU's lead, thanks to 50% three-point shooting, making it a 34-31 game at halftime.
With the Warriors up six in the third quarter, the Rams went on a 13-6 run to take their first lead of the game at 49-48. ESU didn't trail for long, as Chmiel and
Jessica Polin both scored to retake the lead with 17 seconds remaining. However, with 11 seconds to go, Shepherd nailed a three-pointer to tie the game heading into the final quarter.
The Rams held the lead for most of the fourth; the first Warrior lead came at the 2:28 mark off a Kringe layup to make it 64-63. Shepherd responded with a layup of its own to take a 65-64 lead. Then, with under a minute to go, Kringe scored the go-ahead bucket and added a free throw to make the score 68-65. Polin made a free throw to increase the lead to three. The Rams had an opportunity to tie, but their three-point attempt was off target, and a Chmiel rebound sealed the game for the Warriors.
Up Next:
The Warriors will welcome West Chester to Koehler Fieldhouse at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday for a matchup featuring two of the top scorers in DII: Chmiel (22.8 ppg) and Michelle Kozicki (20.5 ppg). Entering Monday, Chmiel was ranked fourth, and Kozicki was 11th.
