Lock Haven women’s basketball falls in PSAC semifinals to Edinboro
EDINBORO — Aiming to reach the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game for the second straight season, the Lock Haven women’s basketball team came up just short – as the Bald Eagles were edged out by host Edinboro, the PSAC’s top-seed from the Western Division, 74-65, in the semifinals.
With the loss, Lock Haven moved to an impressive 20-9 overall on the season.
Playing as the PSAC Eastern Division’s No. 2 seed, the Bald Eagles will now wait to see if they will earn a bid to the 2024-25 NCAA Division II National Tournament, while Edinboro (24-5) will take on Kutztown tomorrow in the PSAC title game.
Alana Robinson led the way on Saturday with a team-high 16 points. She was one of four Lock Haven players in double-figures scoring.
Jenadia Jordan netted 11 points, Rhlyn Rouse added 11 points and Sydney Lear’s strong effort saw her finish with 10 points. Kiera Baughman chipped in on the offensive end with a nine-point outing.
Rouse turned in a monster double-double and backed up her 11 points with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Jordan added seven rebounds, while Baughman added five assists and three steals. Lock Haven benefited from 21 points off the bench thanks to the standout-play from Rouse and Lear.
Host Edinboro led 34-32 at halftime and Fighting Scots were fueled throughout by Morgan Gentile, who finished with 22 points. She was one of three Edinboro players who scored in double figures.
Early in the fourth quarter, Edinboro led by as many as 11 points, but Lock Haven never went away and cut the lead to single digits in the final stages of the semifinal clash.
The Bald Eagles shot 59 percent from the field in the fourth quarter which highlighted their strong play late, and kept The Haven in the game until the end.
Earlier this week, Lock Haven was ranked 10th in the latest NCAA DII Atlantic Region rankings, and on Wednesday of this week, the Bald Eagles secured their 20th win of the season with a 70-64 victory over Bloomsburg in the PSAC quarterfinal action.
Edinboro 74, Lock Haven 65
LOCK HAVEN (20-9)
Alana Robinson 8-15 0-0 16; Jenadia Jordan 5-11 0-1 11; Kiera Baughman 3-8 2-2 9; Madeline Evans -2 5-6 5; Oliiva Smith 1-2 0-0 3; Rhyln Rouse 5-11 1-2 11; Sydney Lear 3-4 3-4 10; Nufi Nemale-Djiegoue 0-0 0-0 0; Adaliz Corbin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 11-15 65.
EDINBORO (24-5)
Morgan Gentile 7-10 7-8 22; Ashten Boggs 7-11 1-2 15; Hayley Sims 4-12 4-6 14; Gabby McDuffie 2-10 4-4 8; Ava Haddad 2-5 1-4 5; Rachael Manfredo 2-6 0-0 5; Hope Garrity 1-1 0-0 3; Natalie Angletti 0-0 2-2 2; Kassie Potts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 19-26 74.
Lock Haven 18 14 13 20 — 65
Edinboro 23 11 20 20 — 74
3-point goals: LHU 4-8 (Jordan 1-3, Baughman 1-3, Smith 1-1, Lear 1-1), Edinboro 5-9 (Sims 2-4, Gentile 1-1, MAnfredo 1-2, Garrity 1-1, McDuffie 0-1). Fouled out: LHU-Jordan; Edinboro-none. Rebounds: LHU 34 (Rouse 13), Edinboro 29 (Manfredo 7). Assists: LHU 10 (Baughman 5), Edinboro 16 (Manfredo 5). Technical fouls: LHU-none; Edinboro-none. Total fouls: LHU 25, Edinboro 16.