Abington, Pa. – The Penn State Abington women's basketball hung tough with NEAC Conference foe the College of St. Elizabeth Friday night, ultimately falling 60-55.
 
St. Elizabeth escaped with the win after Amerisse Rogers posted a basket to give the Screaming Eagles the lead with 1:42 left in the game. St. Elizabeth then corralled the rebound and would sink two free throws to seal the game.
 
Four Lady Lions posted double digits as senior guard Trish Watson led Abington (9-15, 7-10 NEAC) with 16 points. Junior forward Jaclyn Vandiver and sophomore forward Jessica Schmidt each posted double-doubles with 13 points and 12 rebounds along with 12 points and 15 rebounds, respectively.  Abington shot 32.8 percent (20-of-61) from the field and 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from 3-point range in the game. Abington won the rebounding battle 49-45.
 
St. Elizabeth (11-12, 9-8 NEAC) was led by both, Cheyenne Grant and Noelle Grande, as both players scored 14 points each, with Kelly O'Dell scoring eight and grabbing 17 rebounds. The Screaming Eagles shot 31.9 percent (22-of-69) from the field, but forced 24 turnovers with 16 steals, which were converted into points. 
 
Abington managed to tie up the game three times in the first six minutes of the opening tip-off. St. Elizabeth held on to the lead for most of the half until a layup by Vandiver at the 5:27 mark sparked a 14-0 run, with Watson leading the way offensively with six points, as the Lady Lions to close out the half with a 35-21 lead.
 
Abington shot 13-of-29 (44.4 percent) in the first half, and was 8-of-10 (80 percent) at the stripe. The Screaming Eagles benefited from seven second chance points.
 
St. Elizabeth opened the second half with an 14-1 run to trail 26-24 with 14:45 to play. Vandiver drilled a trey to extend the lead to five, but the Screaming Eagles responded with back-to-back layups and a free throw to tie up the game at 39 points apiece.
 
In the next eight minutes, the game tied up four times with two lead changes before a jumper and back-to-back free throws by Rogers gave St. Elizabeth a four point cushion before Grande added two more stripe shots to extend the lead to six  with 38 seconds to play.
 
Abington attempted a final rally in the final seconds, with Watson shooting back-to-back treys, watching one fall through and the second deflected off the back iron, as the Lady Lions were unable to find the tying score.
 
The Lady Lions will now wrap up the regular season on the road against Penn State Harrisburg. Tip off at the CUB in Harrisburg, Pa. is at noon.