ERIE, Pa. – The No. 3 seed Penn State Altoona women's basketball team's Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament run came to an end Saturday afternoon in the Junker Center, where the Lions lost 78-61 to No. 1 seed Penn State Behrend in the league championship game.

Behrend (22-5) powered its way to an 18-point lead midway through the first quarter, forcing Penn State Altoona (20-8) to play catch-up for the rest of the game. The Lions managed to trim their deficit to single digits in the second and third quarters, but Behrend maintained its lead and won by 17 points.

Lanie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had team-highs for Penn State Altoona with 18 points and five assists, while Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) added 11 points and four rebounds. Both Wilt and McCracken were named to the AMCC All-Tournament team for their performances during the conference playoffs this week.

Haley Hicks (Wylie, TX/Wylie East) provided 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) contributed eight points, a team-best seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Behrend got a game-high 32 points and 16 rebounds from Alaina Fabin. Madilyn Boyer totaled 15 points for the home squad, while Lilly Palladino scored 14 and Morgan Altavilla had 13 points.

Early in the first quarter, McCracken scored on a putback and Halle Kuzminski (Warren, PA/Warren) made a layup to account for Penn State Altoona's first points, but Behrend was able to work its way out to a 12-4 lead four minutes into the game. After that, two three-pointers from Palladino increased the home team's lead to 18 points, 22-4, with just under four minutes left in the period. The Lions found some traction on offense to finish the quarter, as nine straight points from Hicks brought Penn State Altoona back to within 12, 25-13, by the period's conclusion.

The second quarter was scoreless until the 7:13 mark, when Allyana Stephens (Johnstown, PA/Bishop McCort) hit a three-pointer to lower Penn State Altoona's deficit to single digits, 25-16. Sayles followed that with a pair of free throws, and Wilt's jump shot at 4:34 made it a five-point game, 25-20. Behrend finally scored its first points of the quarter at 3:50 on a Fabin layup, sparking a 6-0 run that increased the home squad's lead to 31-20. The teams traded scores in the last minute and a half, with Fabin sinking a three-pointer for Behrend and Wilt scoring a layup and adding two foul shots. By the intermission, Behrend held a 34-24 advantage.

Jumpers from Wilt and Kuzminski kept the score differential at 10 points, 38-28, two minutes into the second half. But Behrend began to pull away, outscoring the Lions 9-3 over the next two minutes to go up 45-31. Penn State Altoona answered with seven points in a row after that, getting a Sayles jump shot, Hicks layup, and McCracken three-pointer to cut the Behrend lead to 47-38 by the 4:44 mark. But two three-pointers from Palladino and a Fabin jump shot boosted the home team's advantage to 15 points, 55-40, and Behrend ended the quarter holding a 58-42 lead.

Wilt opened the fourth quarter scoring with a jump shot at 9:02, but a Fabin three-pointer, Boyer layup, and Altavilla basket moved Behrend's lead to 21 points, 65-44, with 6:34 remaining. Penn State Altoona got three-pointers from Wilt and McCracken, as well as a Sayles second-chance bucket, to get within 17 points, 72-55, late in the quarter. Wilt and Ellie Irvin (Calvin, PA/Southern Huntingdon) each connected from beyond the arc for the Lions in the closing seconds of the game, but Behrend finished with a 17-point victory to earn the AMCC title and a berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament next week.