CHEYNEY, Pa. - Jr. TaKayla Ellis paced a balanced Cheyney University women's basketball team with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, as the Lady Wolves built a 20-point lead after three periods, but needed clutch free-throws in the final 42 seconds to come away with a 71-64 Wednesday night in PSAC Crossover action inside Cope Hall.
 
Jr. Shania Stamper added 12 points, So. Quinniea Gross finished with 10 points, four rebounds, four blocked shots, two assists and a steal. The Wolves (3-9, 3-9 PSAC E) trailed 13-10 when, Ellis connected on back-to-back three-point shots put Cheyney ahead to stay and ignite a 13-point run that carried into the second quarter.
 
Shania Stamper closed the first with a three-pointer to give Cheyney a 21-13 advantage. The blitz continued in the second period as the Wolves built the lead to a season-high 24 points at 44-20, before the Griffins (10-8, 6-6 PSAC W) finished the second period on a 7-point run to make it a 44-27 Cheyney lead at the half.
 
The Lady Wolves went- 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, Ellis was 4-for-5 from the field with three triples to lead the way with 11 points. So. Briana Hedgepeth added nine points and Stamper made a three-point shot and a three-point play to head to the break with eight points.
 
The Griffins opened the second half with a three-pointer, but the Lady Wolves built the lead back up to 21 and carried a 59-39 advantage into the fourth.
 
Seton Hill, making its first ever trip to Cope Hall, started the final period by scoring the first 11-points to make it a 59-50 game with 5:54 to play.
 
After a time out, Gross converted on a layup to push the lead back to 11, the teams traded baskets and the Wolves held a 65-54 advantage at the 3:35 mark. The Griffins then went on a 10-to-1 run to climb all the way back and make it a 66-64 with 48 seconds remaining.
 
Ellis was fouled and calmly stepped to the line and made them both to push the lead back to four at 68-64 with 42 seconds left. Sr. Taschell Phillips grabbed a rebound, was fouled and split a pair of free-throws and Gross closed the scoring with a steal and two more from the charity stripe, for the 71-64 final score.
 
Phillips contributed to the victory with a nine-point and nine rebound performance, Hedgepeth and So. Marlon Herring also scored nine points each for the Lady Wolves.
 
Cheyney shot a season-best 47.3% (26-55) from the field, 62.5 % (5-8) from three-point range and 82.4 % (14-17) from the line.
 
Chrisanna Green led four Griffins, who reached double-figures, with game-high 16 points and a nine rebounds.
 
The Lady Wolves return to PSAC East action on Saturday when they host the Shippensburg University with the tipoff scheduled for 3:00 PM.