Selinsgrove, Pa. – Rosemont's Liz Coyne scored 36 points with 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, but the Rosemont College women's basketball team lost to the host Susquehanna University Crusaders in the opening game of the Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament this evening by a final score of 72-67. The Ravens fell to 0-2 with the result while Susquehanna moved to 2-1 on the young season.
Falling behind 15-7 after about six minutes played, the Ravens worked hard to regain the lead. It took about five elapsed minutes, but Rosemont outscored Susquehanna 15-5 to grab the 22-20 lead, their first of the game with 9:06 left, punctuated by a jump shot from Kierra Smith. A Carly Hislop jumper put the Ravens up 24-20 with 8:23 left in the half, the Ravens' largest lead.
An 8-0 Crusaders run put Susquehanna back on top by four points, 28-24 with 5:41 left in the half, but the Ravens responded with an Olivia Crenny jump shot and a Liz Coyne layup to once again tie the score with 4:04 left. The teams played closely until the end of the half with Susquehanna holding a 34-32 lead at the break.
Coyne's layup to start the second half tied the score again, and a couple of free throws by Coyne made the score 38-38 with 17:41 to play. Coyne, on a roll, put the Ravens ahead 40-38 with 17 minute left, but that would be the last time Rosemont would be ahead in the game.
A 16-2 stretch gave Susquehanna a strong 12-point lead with 11 ½ minutes left, but the Ravens did not quit, pecking away at the double-digit deficit for the rest of the half. Still trailing by a dozen with 10 minutes left, Rosemont came to within two points, trailing 69-67 with under a minute to play, but a key trey from the Crusader's Jonaida Williams with 12 seconds left ended any realistic chance for the Ravens to complete the comeback.
Coyne shot 10-for-18 from the field and a massive 16-for-18 from the line. In addition to Coyne's outing, Kierra Smith also had a strong night, notching 9 points with 8 boards. Olivia Crenny scored 8 for the Ravens.
The Ravens will face the College of Staten Island in the consolation game of the tournament tomorrow starting at 1:00pm.
