AMHERST, N.Y. – Women's basketball picked up its second win in as many days, defeating Guelph, 71-62, during the second day of the Daemen Tournament. On Friday, the Bears (2-0) used a strong second half to pull away. On Saturday, SSU jumped out to a 42-23 lead in the opening 20 minutes before wrapping up the 71-62 victory.
Schera Sampson finished with a game-high 19 points in the win, while Alex Pohl and Allison Nagle each added 13 points to the winning effort. Pohl also finished with a double-double as she pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Bears used two late runs in the opening half to jump out to a commanding lead early. With the score 25-21 with 4:52 to play in the opening half, the Bears went on a 7-0 run. After a Guelph basket, the made the score 33-23, SSU went on another 9-0 run to take a 42-23 lead into the locker room. In total, the Bears outscored Guelph, 17-2 in the final 4:52 of the opening half.
In that first half, the Bears got the free throw line 24 times and converted 19 times. Sampson went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the opening half and finished the first half with 13 points. Pohl (who made 11 of her 14 free throw attempts for the game) and Nagle (a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the game) each added seven in the opening half.
Shawnee State would extend its lead to 23 points with two straight baskets to start the second half. The Bears largest lead of the game would come after a Nagle three made the score 64-37 with 9:55 to play. The Bears would score just seven points during those final minutes, while Guelph poured in 22 points. However, the SSU lead would prove too much to overcome as the Bears held on for the nine-point victory.
The Bears shot just over 32-percent from the field for the game, but ended up getting to charity stripe 32 times and converted 25 of those shots. In addition to the double-digit scorers, Diane Abbady added nine points, while Jessica Vidalez hit a pair of threes for six points. Abby Feuchter finished the game with five helpers.
The Bears will now close out the season-opening tournament with host Daemen tomorrow. That game will get underway at 1 p.m.
