Women's Basketball's Comeback Falls Just Short in Battle with Glenville

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Basketball team fell just shy in their contest with Glenville State on Sunday afternoon, dropping the game 87-83 in the final minutes. 
 
Glenville got on the board first with a quick jumper from the elbow, before senior Emilee Weakley knocked down a straight away three from the top of the key for an early Frostburg lead.  Graduate Sarah Shamdeen drove through the lane and laid in the next bucket for the Bobcats, before the Pioneers sunk a three for a tie game.  Both teams swapped easy twos on their next possessions, before a triple from freshman Julie Spinelli started an 11-0 run for FSU to push them in front 18-7 around the midway mark of the first.  Shamdeen and Weakley continued to work to keep the game at a double-digit gap, as Weakley sunk another triple.  Senior Jasmine Johnson got in on the scoring action with a one-for-two trip from the free throw line for a 24-13 score.  Johnson and Weakley scored the final points of the quarter for Frostburg, with GSU cutting the game to 30-25 heading into the second. 
 
The Pioneers opened the second with another basket to make it a one-score game.  Senior Taylor Smith picked up her first points of the day on the other end, as a quick three from Spinelli pushed the game to 35-28, still in favor of the Bobcats.  Spinelli laid in another bucket underneath for FSU, as sophomore Grace Middleton did the same on Frostburg's next trip down the court to stretch the game to a nine point differential.  Points from Shamdeen and Johnson put FSU back on top by 12, as another layup from Shamdeen increased the Bobcat's lead to 14 with under five to play in the half.  Glenville rallied for a 9-0 run to get back within five, as Smith broke the scoring drought with a layup in the paint.  Back-to-back scores from GSU to end the half sat the score at a 46-43 game at the break with FSU still in control. 
 
Looking to take the lead, Glenville laid in the first points of the third to make it a one-point game, but a layup from Weakley in response put Frostburg in front by three.  A three from the Pioneers on their next possession tied the game at 48, until a quick layup from GSU gave them a 50-48 advantage.  Everything started off right for Glenville as they saw themselves ahead by four, until Johnson put up a strong bucket in the paint to get the Bobcats within two.  GSU went for back-to-back scores again, but Spinelli responded from behind the arch to cut FSU's deficit to three.  A layup from Weakley brought the score to a one-point game, but the Pioneers sunk a three on the other end to go right back up by four.  Freshman Ayla Hileman knocked down a jumper for Frostburg, but both teams exchanged buckets to end the third with Glenville out in front 65-60. 
 
Again, the Pioneers laid in the first points of the quarter, extending their lead to eight.  Hileman grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball back in for FSU's first points of the fourth.  Glenville racked up a pair of threes to go up by 12, as Hileman answered with a trey of her own to see a nine-point game.  Hileman kept Frostburg in the game with another trey from behind the arch, as Smith connected on a jumper for a six-point game with 6:22 left to play.  Both teams saw a slow next two minutes, until GSU broke the ice at the charity stripe to sit the game at 78-70.  Glenville was able to jump back in front by 10, but once again Hileman connected from deep to get the Bobcat's deficit to seven.  The Pioneers continued to put their foot on the gas and hit their shots, jumping in front again by 10 for a 83-73 game.  When they needed it most, FSU rallied for eight consecutive points, off threes from Smith and Hileman, bringing the game to 83-81 with 59 seconds left on the clock.  Weakley was fouled, sending her to the line for two, where she went one-for-two to see the game at 83-82 with now 32 seconds left.  The Bobcats fouled to get the ball back, where the Pioneers missed both free throws, giving the ball back to Frostburg.  FSU took a timeout to draw up a play, but Glenville denied the play the Bobcats wanted, as Frostburg coughed up a foul trying to move the ball around, sending GSU to the line where they added two more points to their score.  Now with under 10 seconds to play and no timeouts, FSU quickly dribbled up the court, but turned it over as the Pioneers added another bucket to their score to bring the game to an 87-83 final.    
 
Weakley led all scorers with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Hileman was right behind her with a career-high 18 points off four threes.  Spinelli (12) and Shamdeen (10) were also in double-digits, with the former grabbing nine rebounds as well and the latter dishing out five assists.  Johnson finished with a game-high 13 boards, while Smith finished with nine points, eight boards, and seven assists.
 
With the loss, Frostburg goes to 7-4 on the season while Glenville improves to 8-3.  The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow, December 16 for one more non-conference game before the end of the year, traveling to face UDC at 5:30 PM.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsorts.com.