Women’s Basketball Suffers First AMCC Loss to Behrend
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team took its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss of the season Wednesday night in Adler Arena, when visiting conference foe Penn State Behrend posted an 88-70 victory over the Lions in the AMCC Game of the Week.
Behrend (8-5, 4-0 AMCC) created a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter, then increased its advantage to 19 points in the second. Penn State Altoona (6-7, 3-1 AMCC) made up some ground and stayed within striking distance for much of the night, until Behrend pulled away late.
Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points apiece. McCracken also tallied four rebounds and three assists, while Sayles secured a team-high nine rebounds and blocked one shot.
Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) contributed 14 points to go along with two assists and two steals, and Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a game-high five steals.
Madison Rusnica (DuBois, PA/DuBois) chipped in seven points off the bench, and Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) dished out a game-best five assists.
Behrend's Rachel Majewski led all scorers with 33 points, and Morgan Altavilla scored 17 for the visitors.
In the first quarter, Penn State Altoona got early baskets from Sayles and McCracken to put the score at 4-4, and after Behrend worked in front, jump shots from Sayles and Burns helped keep the Lions within two, 12-10. But Behrend scored 17 points over the remainder of the quarter, and despite three-pointers from Bisignani and Burns, the visitors took a 29-16 advantage into the second period.
Behrend kept its momentum going for much of the second quarter, outscoring the Lions 10-4 over the first five-and-a-half minutes of the period. But Penn State Altoona made a late push to decrease its deficit from 19 points to nine by the intermission. Haley Hicks' (Wylie, TX/Wylie East) foul shot and a Rusnica three-pointer trimmed the Behrend lead to 15 points, before two Burns free throws and jump shots from Rusnica and Green made it a 10-point game, 40-30, by the 2:24 mark. Layups from Hicks and Green got Penn State Altoona to within six, 40-34, but Behrend did not allow the Lions to get any closer. The home team added a point to its total from a Halle Kuzminski (Warren, PA/Warren) free throw, and Penn State Altoona went into halftime trailing by nine, 44-35.
Penn State Altoona had its biggest offensive output of the night in the third quarter, in which the Lions put 21 points on the board. Early buckets from Burns, Sayles, McCracken, and Green kept Penn State Altoona within 11, 54-43, and a McCracken trey at 5:55 made it a 10-point difference, 56-46. Behrend began to pull away, though back-to-back baskets from Sayles and Burns late in the quarter kept Penn State Altoona within 12 points, 68-56. After a Majewski layup, Behrend led 70-56 by the quarter's end.
Burns' three-pointer opened the fourth quarter scoring, and a McCracken three followed to cut Behrend's lead to eight, 70-62, with 8:27 to play. McCracken's jumper and Green's put-back basket kept the Lions within eight points, 74-66, two minutes later. However, Behrend limited Penn State Altoona to just four points the rest of the period, outscoring the Lions 14-4 to leave with an 18-point decision.
Penn State Altoona women's basketball will travel for its next game, heading to Alfred, N.Y., to face AMCC opponent Alfred State College this Saturday, January 11, at 3 p.m.
