Hnatuck reaches 500-rebound mark, but Juniata women’s hoops falls to Gwynedd Mercy

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College women's basketball shot well below its season average while Gwynedd-Mercy College scorched the nets with a 48.2% field goal percentage, as the visiting Griffins notched a 75-70 win over Juniata on Monday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. 

Juniata (4-3, 1-0 Landmark) shot a season-low 30.1% from the field, connecting on 25 of a season-high 83 field goal attempts. The Eagles tied the Griffins three times over the final seven minutes of the game, but were just 2-of-10 from the floor during that span. 

The Eagles caught the Griffins for the last time at 67-67 with 2:11 showing on the clock, following a foul shot by freshman guard Natalie Glinsky (Indiana, Pa./Indiana). Glinsky missed her second shot, which would have put Juniata in the lead, and Gwynedd-Mercy responded with back-to-back layups by Kate Wisniewski and Erica Fulforth to go back up by four points. 

Junior Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) converted a pair of free throws for Juniata with just under a minute remaining, cutting the Gwynedd-Mercy lead back to two points, 71-69. Kristy McGrath made a layup just 14 seconds later, extending the Griffins' led back to four. 

A missed trey by Glinsky led to a foul by GMC's Jackie Dooley on the rebound, and senior Kelly Rotan (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) hit one of two free throws for the Eagles to pull Juniata back to within three of Gwynedd-Mercy. 

However the Eagles would get no closer, as both a layup attempt and a three-point attempt by Ashton Bankos (York, Pa./York Catholic) failed to drop. 

Gwynedd-Mercy's Erica Fulforth ended Juniata's hopes with a pair of free throws in the final seconds. 

Bankos led all scorers with 19 points, while Glinsky finished with 15 for the Eagles. Rotan chipped with 13 points and logged four steals. 

Hnatuck logged her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 boards gives her 502 for her career, making her the 13^th player in Juniata women's basketball history to surpass the 500-rebound mark. 

Gwynedd-Mercy (5-1, 2-0 CSAC) had four players in double-figures, led by Wisniewski with 18. Dooley dropped 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Brittany Neill and Fulforth finished with 11 and 10 points respectively. Lauren Rosar led the Griffins on the boards with 10 rebounds. 

Juniata now takes an 11-day break for exams, before returning to action on Friday, Dec. 18, when it hosts Frostburg State University. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

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