Women's Basketball 2/28/2015 7:40:00 PM Nick Economopoulos

Women’s Basketball Upset SUNY Poly, Move on to NEAC Finals

Box Score MARCY, N.Y. –MARCY, N.Y. – It came down to the wire but the Penn State Abington women's basketball program prevailed as it upset NEAC Tournament host SUNY Poly, 64-55, Saturday afternoon.

In her second year as head coach, Stephanie Carideo has made waves across the NEAC, guiding the Nittany Lion women's basketball program to its 21st victory of the year, a single-season record.

Junior guard Janaiah Elum went off for the Nittany Lions, as she scored a team-high 20 points. Senior center Jessica Schmidt recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The Wildcats opened the first half with a quick 8-2 run in the first minutes of the contest but the Nittany Lions were able to hang around trailing by four points at the half, as it ended 32-28.

Abington made the right halftime adjustments as they came out in the second half with the hot hand. Junior Kyra Lunsford ignited a 10-2 run by draining a three-point shot in the at the 16-minute mark of the second half.

SUNY Poly fought back and was able to equalize with six minutes remaining, tying the contest at 50-50. The Wildcats broke the deadlock minutes later on a Barrie Brooks layup to give the hosts the slight lead.

Elum stole the lead back with a shot from behind the arc, giving Abington a 53-52 lead at the three minute mark. Abington was able to retain the lead with clutch free throw shooting, as they finished off SUNY Poly 64-55.

The stats from the two sides were almost identical, but Abington was able to convert 20 second chance points and held the Wildcats to only four.

The Nittany Lions also held the edge behind the arc, as they hit 35% of their shots and shut down SUNY Poly's perimeter game, keeping the Wildcats to only 13% shooting from three.

Abington continues to make history with their first appearance in the NEAC Finals since joining the conference. The Nittany Lions will face off against the North Division's representative Morrisville State, a team they defeated 68-55 earlier in the season. Tomorrow's game will tip off at 2:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#33 Jessica Schmidt: C; 5' 10"; Senior

#21 Kyra Lunsford: G; 5' 5"; Junior

#23 Janaiah Elum: G; 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#33 Jessica Schmidt
: 5' 10"; Senior
: C

#21 Kyra Lunsford
: 5' 5"; Junior
: G

#23 Janaiah Elum
: 5' 5"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#33 Jessica Schmidt

#21 Kyra Lunsford

#23 Janaiah Elum

Players Mentioned

#33 Jessica Schmidt

#21 Kyra Lunsford

#23 Janaiah Elum