CHESTER, Pa. — Sophomore Dominique Kidd scored 19 of her career-high 23 points in the second half and also grabbed nine rebounds overall for Widener, which blitzed Juniata in the second half for a 79-69 Commonwealth Conference victory at Schwartz Center.

The Pioneers (10-5, 3-1 CC) outscored the Eagles, 54-36, in the second half by shooting 62 percent (21-of-34) from the field, despite the opposition hitting 47 percent (14-of-30).

Senior Chelsea Luhta scored 10 points during Widener’s 22-9 run to open the second half for a 47-42 lead with 11:27 left. Kidd netted five points in that stretch and freshman Beth Dessart Mager added four.

Kidd’s hustle and grit helped her best her previous high of 18 points against Neumann on November 27, 2004. She is averaging 14.6 points over his last five games and 8.7 rebounds her last six contests.

Luhta scored 18 of her 22 points after intermission and leads the Pioneers this season with 22.3 points per game. Dessart Mager scored 13 points, Celeste Baumgardner had 12 and seven rebounds with fellow senior Linette Babiarz dishing 10 assists to match her career high from November 30, 2005 against Lebanon Valley.

Katie O’Brien scored 22 points on 11-of-21 shooting and Jess Winemiller had 10 and eight rebounds for Juniata (8-7, 1-3 CC), which shot 42 percent (27-of-64) from the floor and gained a 40-35 rebounding edge.

Widener returns home Wednesday to face Moravian at 6:00 pm.

Juniata vs Widener
1/14/06 1:00 pm at Chester, PA
At Chester, PA
WIDENER 79, JUNIATA 69
JUNIATA (8-7, 1-3 CC)
Katie O'Brien 11-21 0-0 22; Jess Winemiller 3-10 4-4 10; Ali Meckey 3-8 0-0
8; Courtney Callas 2-3 3-4 7; Lesley Snoby 3-8 1-2 7; Kelly Ashcraft 2-3 2-2
7; Jill Walsh 1-3 2-2 4; Kristen Kirk 2-7 0-0 4; Mindy Werner 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 27-64 12-14 69.
WIDENER (10-5, 3-1 CC)
Dominique Kidd 7-10 8-10 23; Chelsea Luhta 8-12 5-10 22; Beth Dessart Mager
6-10 0-1 13; Celeste Baumgardner 5-16 2-2 12; Linette Babiarz 1-3 3-3 5;
Kelley Guarrera 1-5 0-0 2; Janae Ostrowski 1-2 0-0 2; Megan Sipple 0-2 0-0
0. Totals 29-60 18-26 79.
Juniata.......................   33   36  -   69
Widener.......................   25   54  -   79
3-point goals-Juniata 3-15 (Ali Meckey 2-5; Kelly Ashcraft 1-1; Lesley Snoby
0-1; Jill Walsh 0-1; Kristen Kirk 0-3; Mindy Werner 0-1; Jess Winemiller
0-3), Widener 3-9 (Chelsea Luhta 1-2; Beth Dessart Mager 1-2; Dominique Kidd
1-3; Megan Sipple 0-1; Linette Babiarz 0-1). Fouled out--Juniata-None,
Widener-None. Rebounds-Juniata 40 (Jess Winemiller 8), Widener 35 (Dominique
Kidd 9). Assists-Juniata 17 (Courtney Callas 4; Mindy Werner 4), Widener 18
(Linette Babiarz 10). Total fouls-Juniata 22, Widener 15. A-305