McCracken Reaches 1,000 Points in Lions’ Rout of Panthers
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's basketball senior Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) achieved 1,000 career points Monday night in Adler Arena, where she helped the Lions to a dominant win, 102-53, over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford.
McCracken eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career on a layup midway through the second quarter, becoming the seventh player in Penn State Altoona women's basketball's NCAA history to achieve 1,000 points with the team.
Penn State Altoona (13-6, 8-2 AMCC) jumped all over Pitt-Bradford (0-19, 0-11 AMCC) from the start, staking out a 36-11 lead by the end of the first quarter en route to a 72-21 halftime advantage. The Lions maintained a commanding lead throughout the game, bolstered by a 50.0 percent field goal percentage on offense and forcing the Panthers into committing 30 turnovers.
Penn State Altoona's total of 102 points ranks second-most in a game in program history, while the Lions' 43 made field goals set a new single-game record for the team.
All five Penn State Altoona starters scored in double figures.
Lanie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) led the way with 19 points while recording game-highs in steals and assists, tallying seven and six, respectively. Madison Rusnica (DuBois, PA/DuBois) scored 18 points while dishing out five assists, and Halle Kuzminski (Warren, PA/Warren) put up 17 points while shooting 8-for-8 from the floor.
McCracken and Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) finished with 12 points apiece, with McCracken adding four rebounds and three steals and Sayles securing a team-high nine rebounds.
Pitt-Bradford's Amber Murak led all players with 26 points, and Dalayla Alexander chipped in 13 points for the Panthers.
Penn State Altoona raced out to a 14-0 lead through the opening three minutes of the first quarter, highlighted by a trio of baskets from Kuzminski. Rusnica's three-pointer at 6:22 gave the Lions a 17-2 advantage, and Sayles hit a jump shot just over a minute later to expand the home team's lead to 20 points, 22-2. A trey from Wilt at 2:52 kept the difference at 20, 27-7, before an Ellie Irvin (Calvin, PA/Southern Huntingdon) three-pointer at 1:31 increased the Lions' lead to 32-9. Haley Hicks (Wylie, TX/Wylie East) and Kuzminski each made layups within the last 29 seconds of the period, and Penn State Altoona finished the quarter with a 36-11 edge.
Allyana Stephens (Johnstown, PA/Bishop McCort) hit from three-point range to open the second-quarter scoring, and Kuzminski's layup and foul shot boosted Penn State Altoona's lead to over 30 points, 42-11. Halfway through the quarter, Wilt's three-pointer gave the Lions a 40-point lead, 53-13, and McCracken surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career with a layup at 4:17 that put Penn State Altoona ahead 59-15. Late in the quarter, seven straight points from Wilt preceded Kuzminski's buzzer-beating bucket that grew the Lions' lead to over 50 points, 72-21, by the break.
Penn State Altoona started the third quarter on an 8-0 run, getting baskets from Wilt, McCracken, Kuzminski, and Rusnica to help the Lions to their largest lead of the contest, 80-21. From there, Penn State Altoona got an Addi Schirato (Salix, PA/Forest Hills) layup, two Wilt foul shots, and a three-pointer from Elizabeth Painter (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville) to close the quarter with an 87-34 lead.
The Lions maintained a comfortable lead in the fourth, during which Sayles scored six points and Addy Nardolillo (Hinsdale, NH/Hinsdale) and Painter scored three points each. Penn State Altoona reached triple digits with 1:12 left in the game, when Nardolillo's three-pointer made it 101-48, and the Lions finished the game with a 49-point victory.
Penn State Altoona posted lopsided statistical advantages over Pitt-Bradford in points off turnovers (40-5), points in the paint (50-18), fastbreak points (27-2), and bench points (24-0).
Now winners of four in a row, Penn State Altoona women's basketball will look to keep stacking wins this Wednesday, February 4, when the Lions travel to Pittsburgh to face AMCC opponent Carlow University at 7 p.m.
