November 20, 2015
Grove City drops heartbreaker to Fredonia State
ERIE, Pa. -- Senior forward Kathryn Erbelding (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Olympia) poured in 22 points and sophomore guard Lexie Arkwright (Mercer, Pa./Mercer) added 19 but SUNY-Fredonia would rally late to edge the Grove City College women's basketball team 73-72 in the opening round of the Penn State Behrend Tipoff Tournament on Friday night at the Junker Center.
Erbelding also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double of 2015-16 while Arkwright added seven boards and a game-high five steals. Erbelding and junior guard Teresa Dallatore (Mars, Pa./Mars) each posted four steals while Erbelding dished a team-best three assists.
The Blue Devils (1-0) scored the first two points of the game on a pair of Sabrina Macaulay free throws, but Grove City (1-1) would follow with eight-straight points, including six from Arkwright to take an early 8-2 lead. The Wolverines would continue to control play throughout the first quarter, extending their lead throughout, and a jumper by junior guard Jackie Stewart (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) with 16 second remaining would give Grove City a 22-13 lead through one quarter.
Grove City would get the lead back to nine points on a jumper by freshman McKenzie Black (Akron, Ohio/Green) with eight minutes left in the second quarter, but Fredonia would use a 15-2 to run spanning six minutes and closed by three consecutive Macaulay layups to take their largest lead of the night at 34-30 with 1:43 remaining.
The Wolverines battled back, evening the score at 34-34 on a layup by sophomore guard Katelyn Miller (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and, after Fredonia reclaimed the lead, freshman wing Emory Ujano (McKinney, Texas/McKinney North) drained a jumper with seven seconds remaining to send the Wolverines and Blue Devils into halftime tied at 36.
Grove City shot 50 percent from the field and held Fredonia to just 33 percent shooting, but the Blue Devils attempted 18 free throws to just two for the Wolverines to outscore Grove City 11-0 at the foul line.
The first half of the third quarter featured a single lead change and four ties, as the game remained even at 46-46 with 4:45 remaining. Grove City would use an 8-1 spurt to push their lead to 54-47 with 1:47 remaining, but Fredonia would close the gap back to two before a late Arkwright jumper gave Grove City a 56-52 edge at the end of the third.
Fredonia would draw even with the Wolverines at 58-58 with seven minutes remaining, but over the next three minutes, Grove City would assemble a 10-2 run to take what seemed to be a commanding 68-60 lead with just 4:02 to play. That lead would quickly disappear, as the Blue Devils would make four layups and a free throw on their next five possessions to cut the lead to 70-79 with 90 seconds remaining.
A pair of Erbelding free throws would push the Grove City lead back to three at 72-69, but Fredonia's Emily Lasher quickly answered with a layup to bring the Blue Devils back within one at 72-71 with 59 seconds to play. Grove City would miss on its initial attempt on the ensuing possession but Black grabbed an offensive rebound to give them new life. Stewart would draw a foul for the Wolverines but was unable to extend Grove City's cushion, missing both attempts.
Grove City would also get an initial stop on defense, but Jenna Einink pulled down the offensive rebound and drew a foul. Einink would convert both free throws to put Fredonia on top 73-72, and Grove City's attempt on the final possession was off the mark, giving Fredonia the win.
The Wolverines 13 for 38 (34 percent) from the floor in the second half. For the game, Grove City shot 31 for 74 (42 percent) from the field and 10 of 18 (56 percent) from the line. The Wolverines missed all six of their three-point attempts.
Macauley led the Blue Devils with 22 points and nine rebounds while Einink added 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Grove City will play against the host Penn State Behrend Lions in the consolation game at 1:00 p.m.
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