MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - JP Ferguson banked home the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to lift Penn State Harrisburg's women's basketball team to an improbable 78-75 come-from-behind victory over the defending United East champions from Gallaudet at the Capital Union Building on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10.


Lauren Moffatt turned in the best performance of her career, recording her fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds and four steals. Mikayla Coleman netted 15 points and Akira Cho was the third player to reach double figures with a dozen of her own. 


Trailing by 21 points entering the fourth quarter, Penn State Harrisburg (4-12, 3-2 United East) locked down defensively and forced 10 turnovers by the Bison (1-11, 0-4 United East) in the final 10 minutes. The Lions buried six 3-balls in the frame, went a perfect 10-for-10 from beyond the arc and outscored Gallaudet 38-14 to stun the visitors and complete the memorable comeback in dramatic fashion. 


Penn State Harrisburg opened the fourth on a 7-0 run thanks to a triple from Nicole Hernandez, a pair of Moffatt free throws and a Hernandez layup before using back-to-back 3-balls from Moffatt and Cho to cut the deficit to a more-manageable 10 with 7:06 left to play. Gallaudet pushed the lead back to 14 with 5:02 remaining but the Lions scored the next 11 points to make it a one-possession game with 2:39 left. 


Penn State Harrisburg turned to Moffatt down the stretch and the sophomore delivered, both from the floor and the foul line, as she scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter. Moffatt converted four field goals in the final stanza and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, netting 10 straight points, including the game-tying layup with 1:03 remaining. 


With the score tied 73-73, the Lions forced a turnover before Brookelynn Carr was fouled with 13 seconds left. She sank a pair of free throws to put the home team ahead for the first time since the game's early moments but the Bison answered with a contested layup to pull even with six seconds remaining. 


Out of timeouts, Penn State Harrisburg was forced to push the ball the length of the court before Carr found Ferguson on the wing for a final attempt from beyond the arc. Ferguson's shot banked off the backboard, ricocheted off the front of the rim and fell through the net as the buzzer sound, setting off a celebratory frenzy and giving the Lions their most-thrilling win of the season. 


NOTABLES
- The Lions trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half before mounting their memorable comeback. 
- Penn State Harrisburg outscored the Bison 38-14 in the fourth quarter. 
- The Lions forced 23 turnovers and scored 32 points off Gallaudet miscues.
- Penn State Harrisburg shot 41.9 percent from beyond the arc (13-for-31) and 77.3 percent from the foul line (17-of-22). 
- Gallaudet shot just 57.1 percent from the charity stripe (16-for-28).
- The Penn State Harrisburg bench outscored the Bison reserves 23-6.
- Moffatt was outstanding in recording her fourth double-double of the year, racking up a game-high 21 points on 54.5 percent shooting from the field. She grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, added four blocks and three assists and finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line.
- Ferguson netted six points, swiped three steals, dished out three assists and nabbed on board in just eight minutes of action. 
- Coleman finished with 15 points and four assists.
- Cho connected on four 3-pointers to tally 12 points. 


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions continue conference play when they travel to Notre Dame (Md.) on Tuesday night. 


STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.