Courtesy of Juniata Athletics
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata women’s basketball team got their first win of the year via stifling defense in the fourth quarter as they defeated Arcadia, 56-42, Tuesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium.

The Eagles got on the board with a running left-hand layup by Sarah Betts from the left side off a pass from Bri Bodtorf. A few possessions later, Bodtorf drove from the left wing and converted her own acrobatic lefthand layup to make it 4-2. A Steph Emert jumper was followed by a pair of Kynnedy Miller threes, pushing the JC advantage to 12-3 and forcing a Knight timeout. Arcadia worked their way back into the game, with a putback making it 12-10 with two and a half minutes to play. Miller blew past her defender on the right wing and laid the ball in. The Knights tied things at 14-14 with under a minute to go, but Emma Coolidge had the final say of the quarter. She pump faked at the top of the key before driving right and finishing over two Knights to send JC into the quarter break 16-14.

The second quarter was more of the same as Juniata led by as many as six, but Arcadia made their way quickly back as the teams went into the locker room with the Eagles holding a 30-29 lead. Bodtorf and Hailey Sherman led the way for JC as each tallied five points in the second, while Miller added four. The Eagle defense continued to cause issues for the visitors as they held Arcadia to 33.3 percent shooting.

The third quarter was a grind offensively for both squads, as each team scored in the single digits, but Arcadia led by one heading into the final period.

The opening five minutes of the fourth were tight, with a Betts layup after she snagged an offensive rebound pushing JC ahead by three; the Knights split a pair of foul shots at the other end as the score was 44-42 with four and a half minutes to play. Juniata closed up shop from there, as they closed the game on a 12-0 run, with a Miller triple after Bodtorf grabbed an offensive rebound capping the run.

The Eagles are off until after Thanksgiving, where they will take Lehman in the Penn State Harrisburg Pride-Spirt-Honor Tournament Saturday at 7:00.