Gordon again leads Juniata women’s hoops, this time in 57-41 win over USMMA

KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Juniata College junior Alyssia Gordon (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) paced the Eagles offensively for the second game in a row, leading Juniata to a 57-41 Landmark Conference women's basketball victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Saturday afternoon at Liebertz Gymnasium. 

Gordon tallied 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, not even 24 hours after a 20-point performance in a win over Drew University.

Joining Gordon in double figures was Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic) finished with 10 points.

No. 12-ranked Juniata improved to 19-1 overall with the victory, 9-0 in the Landmark Conference.

The Eagles' unblemished Landmark record was in jeopardy through much of the contest, however, as Juniata shot .357 (20-of-56) from the floor. A late Juniata surge coupled with Merchant Marine's .246 (16-of-65) shooting performance, allowed the Eagles to pull out the road win.

With the game tied 38-38 with 13:06 remaining on the game clock, freshman Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) put Juniata in front with a layup and started a 13-0 run for the Eagles lasting nearly five minutes. Gordon scored six points during the run, which ended with Juniata holding a 48-35 lead following a pair of Livoti foul shots.

The Eagles held the Mariners at bay by going 6-of-8 at the line over the final two minutes of play, to secure the win.

Merchant Marine (7-11, 3-6 Landmark) was led by Demi Vanderwal with 15 points, while Tamara Kaileh netted eight. Rebecca Resor hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds to lead the Mariners.

Juniata will be on the road again next weekend for Landmark Conference play, as the Eagles head to the University of Scranton for a 5:30 p.m. game on Friday, Feb. 3. 

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