(Posted December 18, 2009)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College successfully erased a 10-point second half deficit, but couldn't hold its narrow lead late in the game and dropped a 72-68 decision to Frostburg State University, in non-conference women's basketball action Friday evening at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Juniata (4-4, 1-0 Landmark) trailed 44-34 at the 15:41 of the second half, but pulled back to within three points of Frostburg with an 11-4 run.

Freshman Paige Robertson's (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) three-pointer with 13:12 remaining capped the run, but back-to-back jumpers by Jackie Kimmel and Brittany James quickly stretched the Bobcats' lead back to seven points, 52-45.

Robertson's trey at the 7:59 mark gave Juniata its first lead since the game's opening moments at 58-57; another Robertson three-pointer barely a minute and a half later expanded the Eagles' advantage to 61-59 with 6:13 showing.

Frostburg's Elizabeth Carrington chipped away at the lead when she hit the front-end of a one-and-one, cutting the Juniata lead to a single point. Caryn Wright drained both her foul shots a little less than a minute later at the 3:32 mark, allowing the Bobcats to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Lisa Byer made it a two-possession game in Frostburg State's favor with a three-pointer at the 2:37 mark. Juniata cut the Frostburg State (7-2, 4-0 Allegheny Mountain) lead to a single possession just once more, but could not find the game-tying bucket. The Eagles were 1-of-9 from the field over the final six minutes, with the lone basket coming from Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic) in the game's waning seconds.

For the game, Juniata shot 33.3% (22-of-66) - its second straight game shooting below .350 from the field.

Rookie Natalie Glinsky (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) led Juniata with 15 points off the bench, while Robertson tallied 14 points behind 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Junior forward Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) paced the starters with 13 points, with Bankos chipping in 11 points.

Senior Kelly Rotan (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) led Juniata on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Frostburg's Wright finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds, while James added 12 points. Both Byer and Carrington added 11 for the Bobcats, who shot 52.8% (28-of-53) from the field â?" the best field goal percentage anyone has shot against Juniata since number one-ranked Hope College hit 54.2% (32-of-59) of its attempts in a first round NCAA Tournament game versus Juniata to close out the 2007-08 season.

Juniata returns to action on Monday, Dec. 28, when it travels to Lynchburg, Va., to take on Lynchburg College. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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