Fraley's Trey Trips Shippensburg
ORLANDO, Fla. - Northeastern State turned up the defensive pressure in the second-half, battling back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Shippensburg University 61-60 when Megan Fraley hit a 3-point shot with 13 seconds remaining to give the RiverHawks the victory at the Disney East Coast Classic Sunday afternoon.
Northeastern State trailed 45-25 with 15:50 remaining in the contest when the RiverHawks' offense ignited and the defense dialed up the pressure.
Northeastern State won 2-of-3 games in the Disney Classic to open the season and return home to play Missouri Southern on Nov. 15 (Sunday) at 2 p.m.
"That's got to be the biggest deficit any of my teams have ever come back from especially in the second half," said Northeastern State head coach Randy Gipson.
"The kids just didn't quit. We are really proud of the comeback. Our kids didn't have any quit in them. We weren't having a good day early. But, we kept fighting hard.
"Megan (Fraley) stepped up and hit a big basket. She just drained it," said Gipson.
Jasmine Wright knotted the game on a 3-pointer, 58-58 with 1:42 remaining after Sarah Miller pulled the RiverHawks to within three on a shot behind the arc.
Neither team scored until the clocked ticked down to the 55-second mark when Shippensburg's Lauren Beckley scored on a layup for a 60-58 lead.
Northeastern State's Christy Nitz then missed a short jumper, and Jessica White rebounded. The RiverHawks called timeout to set up a play with 23 seconds remaining. Jasmine Webb missed a shot and she rebounded her own shot.
NSU worked the clock down to 13 seconds, where Fraley on a pass from Alix Perkins, who was named to the all-tournament team, nailed her game-winner.
Shippensburg's Beckley, who finished with 20 points, then missed a shot and Kasey Gardner, who added 19 points, missed the follow shot.
The RiverHawks closed to 10 points 46-36 with 13:32 left outscoring the Raiders 11-1 over a two-minute span. Kendra Dean hit a jump shot to close Northeastern State to within 8 points, 46-38 at the 12-minute mark and after Shippensburg missed two shots, Miller on a pass from Dean, connected on a 3-pointer, to make it a five-point game 46-41 with 10:27 remaining.
Shippensburgh's Kasey Gardner scored for a 48-41 Raider lead with 9:50 left. The Raiders increased their lead to 10 points 51-41 on a Phylicia Bessick 3-pointer at the 9-minute mark.
Both clubs did not score for nearly two minutes before the RiverHawks' Webb, who led the NSU scoring with 10 points, scored on a layup, cutting the Raiders' lead to eight, 51-43 with 8:43 remaining.
It took Shippensburg nearly three-minutes to score and go back up by 10 points with 7:30 left on a basket by Morgan Taylor 53-43. Once again Northeastern State turned up the defensive pressure forcing two Raiders' turnovers with Webb scoring a layup and Perkins, who finished with 10 points, also scoring on a layup, slicing the Raider margin to six points 53-47 with 6:14 remaining.
Shippensburg's Beckley hit a 3 pointer for a 56-47 lead. It would be the final points for the Raiders over a two-minute span as the RiverHawks tied the game 58-all with 1:42 left, outscoring the Raiders 11-2.
The RiverHawks shot just 39.8 percent in the game, connecting on 24-of-61 from the field, including 9-of-26 from behind the arc. NSU was outrebounded by Shippensburg 37-31, but pulled down 12 offensive boards.
