(Posted January 5, 2005)

Waynesburg 65, Juniata 61

Huntingdon, Pa. ? The Juniata College women?s basketball team played some of its best ball of the season in a three minute stretch of the second half against non-conference foe Waynesburg College Wednesday night. Juniata (3-7) posted a 12-1 run with four minutes left in the game to tie the score at 61 with just over a minute remaining. But the outstanding play did not continue into the final minute as Waynesburg (6-4) scored the game?s final four points to hand Juniata 65-61 set-back.

Trailing 60-49 with 4:14 remaining, the Eagles began to heat up. Mindy Werner (West York/York) nailed a three to start the run, with Courtney Callas (Freeport/Sarver) following with a lay-up to cut the lead to six. Kristen Kirk knocked home two free throws, then set-up Callas with a pretty feed on the break which lead to a lay-up and the lead being cut to three. Jill Walsh (Ferndale/Johnstown) completed the rally as she nailed a three to tie the score at 61 with 1:13 left.

But the momentum did not continue into the final 74 seconds. After a free throw from Jessica Hemphill pushed Waynesburg?s lead to one, Juniata committed an offensive foul on the ensuing offensive possession, then saw a game-tying three attempt from Jess Winemiller (Dallastown/York) fall just short with seven seconds on the clock. A free throw from Rachel Dillon with five ticks left iced the win for the Yellow Jackets.

Winemiller paced Juniata as scored 17 points while grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds. It was the first ?double-double? of her career. Werner added a career-high 11 points for Juniata, while Kirk finished with 11 points and passed out a team-high four assists. Callas also finished with ten rebounds, a career high for her.

Katie Lewandowski scored 15 to lead Waynesburg, with Candice Eyerman and Hemphill each adding 13. Lila St. Denis finished with a team-high 10 rebounds.

The visitors seemingly took control of the game midway through the second half. With Juniata leading 41-39 at the 11:26 mark of the second half, the Eagles endured a five-minute scoring drought in which Waynesburg turned a two-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Hemphill and Lewandowski each had four points during the run, which ended when Winemiller converted a free throw. An Eyerman basket extended the lead to 11, and Waynesburg kept the edge above eight until Juniata?s late run.

After a quick start, in which Juniata raced out to an early five-point lead in the first five minutes of the game, Waynesburg held the edge for the remainder of the half. Juniata led 21-20 with 4:25 left in the first stanza after a Winemiller basket, only to see the Yellow Jackets close the half on a 13-4 spurt that made the score 33-25 heading into the locker room.

Juniata will be back in action on Friday night, as the Eagles play at non-conference foe Grove City.

JUNIATA (61): Meckey 2 0-1 5, Walsh 1 0-0 3, Kirk 3 4-4 11, Winemiller 6 5-8 17, O?Brien 2 0-0 4, Callas 3 0-1 6, Rhoads 0 0-0 0, Werner 5 0-0 11, Snoby 2 0-0 4. Totals ? 24 9-14 61

WAYNESBURG (65): Dillon 0 3-4 3, Urban 2 4-4 9, Murphy 0 0-0 0, Eyerman 4 3-3 13, St. Denis 2 1-3 5, Hemphill 4 5-6 13, Petchel 0 0-0 0, Lewandowski 5 5-8 15, Williams 1 1-2 3, Riley 2 0-1 4. Totals ? 20 22 65

Halftime: Waynesburg 33-25. 3-point goals: Juniata 4 (Meckey, Walsh, Kirk, Wernerl); Waynesburg 3 (Eyerman 2, Urban). Assists: Juniata 13 (Kirk 4); Waynesburg (Lewandowski 3). Rebounds: Juniata 40 (Winemiller, Callas 10); Waynesburg 41 (St. Denis 10).

Records: Juniata (3-7); Waynesburg (6-4).

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.