ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University women's basketball team used a fourth quarter surge to defeat Arcadia University 64-60 in the season opener Tuesday evening.
Freshman
Lauren Klieber led the Knights with 16 points in her collegiate debut.
Allyson Wills netted 12 points.
Tierra Harris added 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Terea Hunt scored the first six points of the game for an early lead. Arcadia battled back and tied the game, the first of 11 tied scores in the contest. AU held a 12-11 lead after the first quarter.
Tied at 16 in the second quarter, the Knights scored seven straight points for a 23-16 lead. Two free throws by
Jacqueline Wardrop put Neumann up by eight, 28-20, with four minutes left in the half. Arcadia answered by scoring the next 10 points for a 30-28 lead. Two free throws by Harris tied the game and after an Arcadia basket, Harris netted two more free throws for a score knotted at 32. It looked as through the teams would go into the half tied, but Arcadia was fouled just before the clock ran out and sank its two free throws for a 34-32 lead at the break.
Harris hit the first basket of the second half, but Arcadia took the lead right back and held the advantage throughout the third quarter. AU hit a three-pointer just before the end of the third quarter for a 52-43 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
After Arcadia scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, Neumann went on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 54 with five minutes left on the clock. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes and were knotted at 60 with two minutes left in regulation. Neither team would find the basket until 44 seconds left when Wills hit a lay-up and was fouled. She completed the three-point play for a 63-60 edge. With 11 seconds remaining,
Aubrie Breisblatt went one-for-two from the free throw line for a four-point lead and sealed the victory.
Neumann (1-0) heads to the Rose City Classic this weekend, held at Drew University. The Knights will face the host on Friday evening beginning at 6:00 PM.
