Women’s basketball wins fourth straight

BY CORY NIDOH 

Assistant Sports Editor

The Warriors Women’s Basketball team is quietly putting together a nice campaign as they held on to an exciting 57-54 victory over Millersville last Wednesday to win their fourth straight game and climb to third in the PSAC East.

ESU was led by junior guard Jessica Martin and Ryann Fiascki as they improved to 13-9 overall and 8-4 in the conference, and climbed  up the PSAC standings in the process.  The game was a hard-fought nail biter.

The Warriors had a 28-20 lead heading into halftime but the Marauders poised a second half charge as they erased an 11-point deficit and took the lead 49-47 with just three minutes and change left on the clock.

Martin and Fiascki made their presence felt down the stretch however.  Martin scored four points with a jumper and a trip to the free throw line giving her team a 51-49 lead.

Poster of Warrior Startup Challenge with details and QR code

With 1:06 left, Martin again knocked down both of her shots at the stripe for a 53-50 lead.  Millersville answered with their own bucket making it 53-52.  The ensuing possession, Martin passed the rock to Fiascki who found the bottom of the net from downtown to make it 56-52 in favor of the Warriors.

The Marauders knocked down two free throws to make it 56-54.

Sophomore guard Helena Gemmell was fouled and made 1 of two at the line making 57-54.  Millersville had two chances to force the game into overtime but they couldn’t get the shots to fall in and the Warriors held on for the victory.

Martin finished with her tenth double-double of the season having 18 points and 11 rebounds along with two blocks which moved her into the top 10 in PSAC history with 200 career blocks.  Fiascki had 11 points along with six assists to tie her season-high and the key three-pointer with 32.5 seconds left on the clock.

Gemmell finished the game with four points, five rebounds and five steals.

Freshman forward Allison Howard added eight points and five rebounds.

It was just the second time in sixteen games that the Warriors came out victorious against Millersville, with the most recent one coming back in 2012.

With the win, Maureen Smith and her squad are just one game away from doubling their win total from a year ago where they finished 7-20.

Email Cory at:

cnidoh@live.esu.edu