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Juniata 86, Gwynedd Mercy 81
BOX SCORE
GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- Six players finished in double figures but it was Juniata pulling out an 86-81 win over the Griffins Saturday afternoon.
Gwynedd Mercy battled back to lead by three at halftime (41-38), only to see the Eagles use a key 15-5 run early in the second and hold off a late Griffin push.
Senior
Nicole Dougherty (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) finished with 19 points, including a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line.
Jordan Dominic (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) and
Kelsey Yori (Folsom, Pa./Ridley) each had 12, while
Chandler DiFebbo (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) added 11.
Lauren Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and freshman
Charlotte Kucowski (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert) chipped in 10 apiece.
Kate McDonald led Juniata (3-0) with 26 points and 14 rebounds, both game highs, while adding three assists and three steals. Paige Dennison added 24 points and seven assists and Kelsey Livoti contributed 18 points and seven boards.
The Griffins rallied from a 12-point first half deficit, by closing the stanza on a 19-4 run over the last 4:44 for a three-point halftime edge. Dougherty would produce a big three-point play, getting fouled on a twisting layup in the paint with just over a minute to give GM its first lead since early in the contest.
In the second, Juniata took a three-point lead on Livoti's hoop and harm, as her free throw made it a 49-46 game with 15 minutes to go. The Eagles would stretch their lead to as much as 11 on three occasions, the last coming with 2:50 in the game. Gwynedd would give it one last push getting a three-pointer from Dominic and a bucket from Dougherty to cut it to 84-80, but the team could pull no closer.
Dominic would hit four of the team's six three-pointers as the Griffins were 6-of-24 from downtown and 29-of-73 (39.7%) from the rest of the floor. The Eagles finished a tad shy under 60%, going on a 31-of-52 (59.6%) shooting clip.
Freshman
Nicole Dombrowski (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, but GM was outrebounded as a team, 38-28. The Griffins were able to force 27 Juniata turnovers, which led to 33 points.
Gwynedd Mercy is off until Monday, December 1st when they open CSAC play by visiting Cabrini in a rematch of last season's conference championship. The doubleheader starts at 6 p.m. followed by the men's game at 8 p.m.
