BOX SCORE
Rosemont, PA (Jan. 21, 2006) – Sophomore guard Ashley Shrawder (Dalmatia, PA/Line Mountain) scored 10 of her career-high 19 points after halftime to lead Alvernia College to a 69-63 win over Rosemont College Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women’s basketball action at Rosemont.
Shrawder, who entered Saturday’s game just two for her last 20 attempts from behind the arc, connected on all three 3-point attempts at Rosemont. She was also perfect from the free throw line in six attempts.
Shrawder hit four of her six charity tosses as the Crusaders rattled off seven straight points to double their lead to 14 points with 6:57 left to play. Rosemont whittled that lead down to five points on four different occasions and eventually down to four with 28 seconds left, but Shrawder was perfect on her last two free throws with 19 ticks left to seal the win.
Alvernia responded to Rosemont’s opening bucket with nine straight points capped by senior Mandy Reinhart’s (Pine Grove, PA/Pine Grove) first of three 3s. Reinhart dropped in another bucket to counter four straight from the hosts and following a Cecilia Saunders (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) bucket that cut Alvernia’s lead to 11-8, Shrawder’s first 3 of the day started a 7-0 spurt that gave the visitors their first double figure lead of the day at 18-8.
Rosemont came back with a field goal and a free throw, but Shrawder pushed the lead back to 10 with her second 3 at the 8:35 mark. Alvernia junior Lauren Fortna (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon Catholic) hit the Crusaders’ only two free throws of the first half to answer an Andrea Boyle (Swarthmore, PA/Cardinal O’Hara) bucket before eight straight from the Ramblers, capped by a pair of 3s from Nikkia Bright (Philadelphia, PA/Central High School) that cut the lead to two, 23-21 with 3:27 left in the half.
Fortna stopped the streak with a 3 and junior guard Kerry Higgs (Westminster, MD/Westminster) scored to put Alvernia up seven, 28-21. Shrawder traded 3s with Megan Torbik (Moosic, PA/Bishop Hoban) to close the first-half scoring and Alvernia enjoyed a 31-24 lead at the break.
Torbik, who scored 13 of her 16 after the break, opened the second half with a 3 and Saunders scored to cut the gap back to two points, 31-29. A Shrawder field goal and two Reinhart free throws put Alvernia up six and after four straight from Rosemont, a Reinhart 3 and two Fortna free throws put Alvernia up seven with 14:43 to play.
Reinhart nailed her third 3 to answer another Torbik field goal, and the Crusaders held a 13-point lead, 50-37 after Shrawder’s bucket at 11:51 capped a run of eight straight for the guests. Torbik answered with six straight points for the Ramblers to trim the lead to seven, but Alvernia responded with four free throws from Shrawder, another from freshman Allee Barnes (Blooming Glen, PA/Pennridge), and a Fortna field goal to take its largest lead of the day, a 14-point edge with 6:57 to play.
The Crusaders scored 18 of their 38 second-half points from the free throw line on 21 attempts and finished the game 20-for-23 from the charity stripe.
Rosemont continued to fight back with seven straight points to cut the lead in half and pulled within five following what amounted to an 11-2 run during which Alvernia got just two free throws from junior forward Camrell Gholston (Westminster, MD/McDonogh School).
Higgs went 2-for-2 from the free throw line twice in the final three minutes of play, and both Fortna and Reinhart hit from the floor to keep the Alvernia lead at seven. Bright finally pulled the hosts closer on her 3 with 28 seconds left, but Rosemont could not pull closer than four as Shrawder set her new career high with a pair of free throws on the Crusaders final possession.
Shrawder’s previous career high was 17 points at Cedar Crest during her freshman season. The Crusaders finished seven free throws short of the team record for free throws made in a game. Five different Crusaders were perfect from the line as Reinhart (2-for-2), Higgs (4-for-4), Fortna (5-for-5), Gholston (2-for-2), and Shrawder (6-for-6) finished a combined to go 19-for-19 from the stripe.
Alvernia will travel to Arcadia University on Monday to continue the conference schedule with a women’s and men’s doubleheader with the Scarlet Knights.
Alvernia 69, Rosemont 63
