Beaver Comes Up Short in Final Four

Media, PA -- Beaver Comes Up Short in Final Four

By: Chris Rotondo

The women's basketball team came up short Saturday night in their PSUAC Final Four faceoff against Penn State Lehigh Valley. The 86-61 loss brings Beaver's season to a close.

The game started with Lehigh Valley making an early 4 point lead as Beaver tried to put themselves on the board. Two minutes into the game, junior Ally Rudolph made a 3-point jump shot, putting Beaver 1 point away from a tie. Moments later, senior Brittany Jackson made a jump shot that briefly put Beaver ahead by 1. After Lehigh Valley gained the lead again, sophomore Cheyenne Lopez made a 3-pointer that pushed Beaver ahead by 2. Seconds later, Lehigh Valley tied the game at 8. 

After a timeout by Lehigh Valley, the game began to slip away from Beaver. While Beaver did not trail by much in the first, they missed some key shots on goal that would have kept the game closer. By the end of the first, Beaver was trailing 18-14.

The second quarter fared to be worse for Beaver, as they missed some important attempts on goal. Both Lopez and Rudolph made a 3-pointer each in the beginning of the quarter, only slightly pushing the team closer to a tie. Beaver struggled getting past Lehigh Valley's defense. They often failed to hit the 2, something that Lehigh Valley exceeded in. By the end of the second, the 48-26 score showed that Beaver had quickly fallen behind.

In the opening moments of the third, freshman Julia Sabbio made a pair of much needed 3-pointers. Freshman Diamond Thomas was able to make a steal and a subsequent layup. Lehigh Valley struggled in much of the third, often missing big attempted shots. Beaver made some successful shots at this point, though they had a way to go before a possible tie. Sophomores Tara McFadden and Rachael Cummings each made 2-point shots, pushing the score to 68-50 at the end of the third.

Lehigh Valley managed to push back in the fourth quarter. Recognizing that this was it, Beaver tried to push ahead, but Lehigh Valley's lead was impossible to overcome. Beaver fell to Lehigh Valley 86-61, eliminating them from the PSUAC Finals. The team ends their season with an even 13-13 record, while they were 12-4 in their season conference matches.