ERIE, Pa. – The No. 3 seed Penn State Altoona women's basketball team overpowered No. 2 seed La Roche University in Friday afternoon's Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal game, defeating the Redhawks 70-57 at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center.

With the win, Penn State Altoona (20-7) moves on to the AMCC Championship game tomorrow, Saturday, February 28, at 2 p.m. when the Lions will face off against No. 1 seed and host school Behrend. Penn State Altoona will be in search of its third-ever AMCC title and its first since the 2001-02 season.

Additionally, Penn State Altoona tied the program's single-season wins record on Friday by securing its 20th overall victory this year. The only other team in women's basketball program history to achieve 20 wins in a season was the 2009-10 Lions squad that finished the year 20-7.

Penn State Altoona trailed early in Friday's contest, but the Lions surged ahead and never looked back. Penn State Altoona was helped by a strong rebounding performance, posting a 50-34 margin over La Roche (14-12) in rebounds.

Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) led the way for the Lions with her third double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 25 points and tying for the game lead in rebounds with 12. McCracken hit five of her seven three-point attempts.

Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) notched her 17th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Lanie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had 19 points and eight boards. Halle Kuzminski (Warren, PA/Warren) chipped in six points and six rebounds.

La Roche was led in scoring by J'La Kizart and Jazmine Dunn, who finished with 14 points apiece. Nautica Burwell scored 13 for the Redhawks, and Catherine Kelly added 10 points.

Penn State Altoona overcame a 7-0 deficit to start the first quarter and ultimately finished the period with a four-point lead over La Roche. McCracken connected on a three-pointer to put the Lions on the board at 7:45, and she hit again from beyond the arc 36 seconds later to make it 7-6. Two Sayles free throws pulled Penn State Altoona into the lead, 8-7, and jump shots from Wilt and Sayles made it 12-8 midway through the period. Wilt's three-pointer at 3:02 gave the Lions a 15-10 advantage, and a Kuzminski basket at 1:12 made it 17-11. The Redhawks picked up two points on Dunn's free throws within the final minute, and Penn State Altoona held a 17-13 lead by the quarter's end.

La Roche pulled ahead early in the second quarter, starting on an 8-2 run to jump in front, 21-19, on a Kizart layup at the 7:55 mark. But the Lions regained their footing, as baskets from Wilt, Haley Hicks (Wylie, TX/Wylie East), and Sayles got Penn State Altoona back on top, 26-21, by 5:32. The Redhawks answered with three-pointers from Kelly and Burwell that gave La Roche a 27-26 lead, but Penn State Altoona scored five in a row after that, including a Wilt putback bucket that gave her team a 31-27 advantage at 1:33. The Redhawks got a layup from Kaitlyn Nease in the closing seconds, and halftime arrived with Penn State Altoona holding a tight 31-29 lead.

Penn State Altoona was able to widen the gap in the third quarter, when it outscored La Roche by a 21-14 margin. Baskets from Sayles, McCracken, Kuzminski, and Wilt got the Lions to a 39-32 advantage, before a pair of Sayles foul shots at 5:10 made it 41-32. After another Sayles jump shot and two McCracken free throws, McCracken nailed a three-pointer at 2:21 to give the Lions a nine-point lead, 48-39. Kuzminski's jumper at 1:34 put Penn State Altoona up 50-39, and a Wilt basket 30 seconds after that boosted her team's lead to 13 points, 52-39. La Roche used scores from Dunn and Kizart over the last 46 seconds of the quarter to make it a nine-point game, and Penn State Altoona headed into the final quarter with a 52-43 lead.

The Lions maintained a solid lead over La Roche throughout the fourth quarter. Early foul shots by McCracken and Sayles made it 58-43, and Sayles connected on a jump shot at 4:40 to put Penn State Altoona's lead at 15 points, 63-48. After that, McCracken drilled another three-pointer before a Sayles basket and two Wilt free throws kept the Lions' lead at 15 points, 70-55, with 1:15 to play. By the final buzzer, Penn State Altoona had clinched a berth to tomorrow's AMCC Championship game by defeating La Roche for the second time this year.