ABINGTON, Pa. – In a defensive slugfest, the Penn State Abington women's basketball team ground out a win over the College of Saint Elizabeth 62-55 on Tuesday night. Abington improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Junior guard
Shayna Rodriguez (Philadelphia, PA) led the Nittany Lions with 18 points and senior guard
Symantha Marrero (Philadelphia, PA) was right behind with 17 points and 12 boards to complete the double-double.
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In an ugly first quarter the Nittany Lions were down 9-0 with 3:28 left on the clock. Freshman
Iman Richmond (Chicago, IL) closed the gap with her jumper that earned the and one, as she was fouled on her shot. A last second three from Rodriguez cut the deficit to three points after the sluggish start.
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Again, the Eagles defense made the Nittany Lions struggle and the Eagles pushed ahead to a seven-point lead. In the final five minutes of the quarter the Nittany Lions shut down the Eagles with a 10-0 run highlighted by
Tola Oguntase (Egg Harbor Township, NJ) scoring seven points.
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The game opened up in the third period with both teams draining their shots, but the Nittany Lions held on to their slim margin. With four minutes remaining the Eagles regained the lead off a deep three-ball. The visitors held the lead for all of 27 seconds, but kept the game within one point at the break.
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Both teams traded shots and the Eagles clawed their way back into the lead after hitting their free throws. Marrero and Rodriguez turned on the heat in the final minutes of play to take the lead and hold on to the game.
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Abington will be back in action when they host non-conference Delaware Valley University on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
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