WASHINGTON - Gallaudet University had an opportunity here Wednesday evening to make headway in the North Eastern Athletic Conference standings as the Bison played host to Penn St. Harrisburg, the top South Division team in the conference.  The Bison got outscored 20-13 in the fourth quarter and lost by seven points, 60-53, to the Lions.

Gallaudet (5-11, 3-5 NEAC) trailed for the majority of the game against Penn St. Harrisburg (8-9, 6-2 NEAC) but took its first lead, since the opening minutes of the contest, when junior guard Emelia Beldon (Frederick, Md.) made a layup and got fouled in the process to start the fourth quarter. Beldon converted the three-point play to break the 40-40 tie as GU led 43-40. Gallaudet got careless with the ball and made some ill-timed turnovers and missed several shots as the Lions went on a 16-3 run in just under six minutes to go back up 10 points, 56-46.

GU trimmed the lead to five, twice, in the final minutes but that was as close as the Bison got.

Freshman forward Cassidy Perry (Frederick, Md.) led the Bison with 20 points and 15 rebounds to go with two blocked shots. Beldon chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Rajena Guettler (Frederick, Md.) added nine points and eight boards while freshman Sunita Schmidjorg (Austin, Texas) tallied seven points and seven rebounds. 

Penn St. Harrisburg was led by forward Anna Mahan who scored a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Guard Kendis Butler added 18 points to help the Lions win.

Gallaudet trailed 18-12 after the first quarter and were down 33-22 at the half.

BISON TRACKS

• Junior guard Kendall Hudson (Blissfield, Mich.) grabbed nine rebounds
• GU scored 20 points in the paint
• Gallaudet held a 57-45 advantage in rebounds
• This season is PSH's first back in the NEAC after being in the Capital Athletic Conference for the past several seasons
• PSH's last full season in the NEAC was 2012-13
• GU went 3-5 during the month of January
• Gallaudet's athletic department paid tribute, before the game, to Kobe and Gianna Bryant along with the other seven victims of last Sunday's helicopter crash in California. Several Bison players wore Kobe Bryant jerseys during pre-game warm ups, while Beldon switched jersey numbers with Ariel Senics (Fishers, Ind.) so she could wear #24, Kobe's number, for tonight's game.

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will travel to Penn St.-Abington (7-9, 5-3 NEAC) this Saturday, Feb. 1, for a 3 p.m. conference game. The Bison lost a heartbreaker to the Nittany Lions, 77-74 in overtime, two weeks ago (Jan. 15) at home.

Gallaudet Basketball Reunion (Feb. 14-15) sponsored by Sorenson Communications, LLC

The Gallaudet University men's and women's basketball programs will host a reunion weekend on Feb. 14-15, 2020, in the Field House for former GU basketball student-athletes, coaches and fans. If you are interested in attending the basketball reunion weekend please register here: http://igfn.us/form/PyyW3w. 

For more information: https://www.gallaudetathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/reunion-update

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