SHEPHERDSTOWN W.Va., – The Shepherd University Women’s basketball team is inching their way up the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East (PSAC) rankings after beating Shippensburg University in the Butcher Center Wednesday night.
Shepherd head coach, Jenna Eckleberry said, “It feels good to be closing the gap and moving up in the rankings, however we have had a great season so far and still aren’t at the top.”
The women are ranked number two out of the nine teams in the East Division of the conference after being picked eighth in the preseason polls.
Scoring a game high of 28 points, junior guard for Shepherd, Marley McLaughlin helped lead Shepherd (9-5) to their win over Shippensburg 78-71.
“Every single game is important and we have to treat every game like it is a championship game,” said Eckleberry.
Freshman guard, Abby Beeman added 19 points and 10 rebounds to steer Shepherd to their win.
Destiny Jefferson, a junior forward leads Shippensburg (10-4) in assists and lead the Raiders with 18 points.
At half, Shippensburg was ahead with a 43-31, but Shepherd was able to come back after halftime taking the lead in the third quarter, making the game 55-51.
“We focused on the defensive end and executing the defensive game plan,” said Eckleberry.
She said the defense is what helped turned the Rams around in the second half of the game.
The Rams will play at Lockhaven at 1 p.m. on Saturday.