Eastern Sinks Brandywine At The Buzzer

ST. DAVID'S, Pa. – Jeriyah Johnson drained an off-balance three-pointer as time expired to lift Eastern University to a 67-64 victory over the Penn State Brandywine women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon.

Brandywine overcame a five-point deficit to begin the final period, taking the lead at 61-60 following a free throw from Trinell Watson (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) with 2:28 to play. The teams swapped the lead three times during the next 1:34 before another Watson free throw tied the count at 64-all with 48 seconds on the clock.

The Lions had an opportunity to go in front during the final seconds, but Watson's jumper was off the mark. Following an Eagle timeout, Stephanie White inbounded a pass to Johnson with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation and Johnson sank a triple in front of the hosts' bench.

Brandywine held a lead as large as 11 points thanks to a 20-4 run spanning more than five minutes of the first and second quarters. Anaiyah Allen (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner) capped the surge with consecutive baskets that made the score 28-17.

Eastern narrowed the margin to 36-34 at intermission and scored the final five points of the third quarter to build a 55-50 edge through 30 minutes. The Lions received scoring from five different players and outscored Eastern 10-5 during the first 6:32 of the final period to fight back and tie the score.

Watson poured in a career-high 29 points on 11-of-25 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 marksmanship at the free throw line. She added six rebounds and three assists.

Allen notched 13 points and produced team highs with seven boards and three steals, while Sierra Diawara (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) and Jazmyn Kemp (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) both tallied nine points.

Brandywine (1-10, 0-3 United East) will return from a two-week holiday break on Saturday, January 4 when the Lions host Notre Dame MD at 1:00 PM.