Morristown, N.J. – Even the blackout of the basketball game could not change the momentum for a potential victory as the Penn State Abington women's basketball fell short with a 67-63 decision to the Screaming Eagles of the College of St. Elizabeth Tuesday night.

The loss puts Abington at 8-12 overall and 6-7 in conference play, while St. Elizabeth improved to 8-12 on the season and 7-6, putting the Screaming Eagles half a game behind Abington, looking to claim the third spot of the North Eastern Athletic Conference south division.

Three players scored in double digits as junior forward Jaclyn Vandiver and sophomore forward Jessica Schmidt each posted double-doubles on the night. Vandiver led the squad with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Schmidt netted 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Trish Watson went 11-for-15 at the stripe before finishing with 15 points on the night.

The game was scheduled for completion on January 30^th, however due to high winds in the area, the campus of St. Elizabeth lost power shortly after the end of the first half with the Screaming Eagles up 37-27, forcing the officials to suspend the game for the time being. Both teams were able to reschedule the game to tonight, completing the second half as Abington showed more determination to make it a close game in the books.

St. Elizabeth came out looking to overwhelm on offense from the get-go and did so with the help from their leading scorer, Cheyenne Grant, who nailed 7-of-12 of her shots from beyond the arc and scored 23 points in the first half alone for the Screaming Eagles. The Lady Lions kept fighting their way through the game but struggled to find their rhythm, shooting just 26.7 percent from the field as Abington headed into the locker rooms down 37-27 at the half.

With the mentality of a whole new ball game, it seemed that the Lady Lions had luck on their side during the second half. Vandiver, who shot a merely 40 percent (4-of-10) from the field during the first half, improved her game during the second stanza, shooting 50 percent, collecting six points from beyond the arc to finish the half with 15 points. Fellow teammate, Schmidt, also improved her game, adding 11 points to the score.

However, Abington continued to struggle on the defensive end of the floor as St. Elizabeth's leading scorer, Grant, tallied nine crucial points to give the Screaming Eagles an edge. The Lady Lions attempted a final charge but were unable to pull out the win, falling 67-63.

Abington improved their game throughout the second half, nailing 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) of the free-throws and hitting 3-of-9 from beyond the arc to outshoot St. Elizabeth, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field during the stanza.

The Nittany Lions will have little rest as they return to action tomorrow night at 6 p.m. when it hosts Penn State Berks. Tomorrow night's men's and women's games are “Pink Zone” games to benefit the Pennsylvania Pink Zone, which promotes cancer awareness and empowers survivors through fund-raising for cancer organizations, charities, and facilities.