Elizabethtown College women’s basketball is in its final stretch of the season and looking to capitalize with big wins throughout the Landmark Conference’s final games, including the matchup on Feb. 5 against #19 ranked Catholic University. Etown and Catholic entered the game with the same record, 17-2, with only one spot in the top 25 on D3Hoops.com (https://www.d3hoops.com/top25/women/scoreboard) separating the two sides. With a win, the Blue Jays hoped to close the gap between themselves and undefeated #3 Scranton who leads the Landmark Conference.
Etown started strong with senior forward DaniRae Renno scoring the first eight points of the game, finding an 8-4 lead to begin the first quarter. Even with the early lead, the Cardinals fought back, with junior guard Anna Scoblick adding eight points in their pursuit of Etown’s early lead. In the final minute of the first quarter, senior guard Lindsay Boyd drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 17, but a buzzer-beater by Catholic’s senior guard Keegan Douglas gave the Cardinals a three-point lead heading into the second quarter.
Catholic began to build a lead in the second quarter as Etown had trouble scoring in the quarter hitting just one of their first nine shots. The Blue Jays kept the lead within distance, knocking down seven of their 10 free throws. Junior guard Makenna Mummert led the team in scoring for the quarter with four points. Mummert brought the Catholic lead to seven to end the half with a layup at the buzzer to close out the quarter.
Etown started the second half strong, nearly erasing the first-half lead by the Cardinals by going on an 8-3 run in the first three minutes. Catholic began battling back, but the Blue Jays held the lead at around three points, with Renno converting the three-point play on a foul to motivate the team. The Cardinals got on a run in the middle of the third, with a 6-0 run expanding the lead to nine, but the Blue Jays weren’t done fighting yet, battling back to a three-point deficit to end the third quarter.
With a one-point lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter, thanks to a layup by sophomore guard Kamryn Mengel, the Blue Jays were on the doorstep of taking their first lead since the opening stages of the first quarter. Catholic was able to go on a run as the scoring dried up for the Blue Jays, expanding the lead to as large as nine. Etown finally found some form at the end of the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Catholic bested Etown 70-63.
Etown was led by Renno, who had 16 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor and added six rebounds and six blocks. Mengel contributed 10 points off the bench in nine minutes, shooting 66.7%. Senior guard Summer McNulty added nine points and five rebounds for the Blue Jays while fifth year forward Jess King racked up 11 rebounds. Catholic’s Scoblick had the game-high in points with 21 while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists.
The Blue Jays will play their final home game against #3 ranked Scranton University on Feb. 22 and Landmark playoffs begin on Feb. 25.
