Second half surge carries Juniata to victory
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MIFFLINTOWN -- After a slow start, Juniata let loose offensively in the second half which led to a 47-32 victory over Juniata Christian in girls basketball action on Thursday.
"It was a team effort. Every single one of those kids contributed," Indians coach Jim Fosselman said. "We've been preaching in practice that we got to get other people to contribute and we did it tonight."
The Indians only scored 15 points for the entire first half. However, they scored more in the third quarter than the first half combined with 18 total points in the frame. In fact, Juniata had outscored the Lions 32-14 for the entire second half.
"We played three quarters. They finished the game. They played the right three quarters, the last three and we played the first three," Lions coach Jim Tusing Jr said. "They executed when they needed to. They made the shots when they needed to."
The Indians were led by Regan Lowrey who scored 13 points for the evening. Not far behind was Cora Musser who added on eight more points. Mariska Beward dropped seven for the night and played a major role on the glass as she filled in the gap left by Ava Shearer who was out with an injury.
"I felt like I played pretty good. I'm just happy we came out with a win," Beward said.
On the flip side of things, Juniata Christian was led by Erin Sheaffer who tied with Lowrey for a game high of 13 points.
For most of the night, the Lions kept the Juniata offense in check and refused to allow the Indians many chances to get the ball inside thanks to the efforts of Peyton Burd, Erin and Emily Sheaffer.
But, unlike Juniata, the Lions were unable to find a rhythm on offense. But it was not for a lack of trying as they continued to push the ball on offense, but just could not get them to fall. But their never say die attitude did not go unnoticed.
"We have a good group of young ladies that work hard. They really work hard," Tusing said. "So I never doubted that portion of it. It's just how much are we going to score. That is always the question every night."
Next, Juniata (8-6) travels to Newport. Juniata Christian will visit Columbia County Christian. Both games will be played today.
Juniata 47, Juniata Christian 32
JC 9 9 6 8--32
Juniata 9 6 18 14--47
Juniata (47): Haley Mummah 2 2-5 6; Shalelyn Armstrong 2 1-3 6; Cora Musser 4 0-0 8; Regan Lowrey 5 3-3 13; Mariska Beward 3 1-6 7; Mylee Landis 2 0-2 4; Chloe Beckenbaugh 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 19 8-21 47.
Juniata Christian (32): Peyton Burd 1 1-2 3; Emily Sheaffer 2 0-0 4; Olivia Tusing 1 2-6 4; Erin Sheaffer 6 0-0 13; Abby Warner 1 2-4 4; Maddie Warner 2 0-3 4. TOTALS: 13 5-15 32.
Three pointers: Juniata: Armstrong. Juniata Christian: Erin Sheaffer.