by Christina Roukas

Greensburg, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team lost 56-45 Wednesday evening at Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Greensburg.

This is the Lions' (2-13, 1-7 AMCC) fourth straight loss. However, Penn State Altoona broke Pitt-Greensburg's (11-3, 6-1 AMCC) streak of never trailing to an AMCC opponent by the end of a first quarter this season.

In this first quarter, the Lions started off strong with a seven-point lead. Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) put up half of Penn State Altoona's points in the first quarter, which ended with the Lions leading 14-10. It marked the first time all season that Pitt-Greensburg fell behind a conference opponent by the end of a first period.

In the second quarter, the Lions continued to play great offensively and gained an eight-point lead in the first few minutes of the period. However, the Bobcats made a comeback, tying the score 21-21 with 3:24 left in the quarter. The Bobcats broke the tie, 23-21, and kept the lead for the rest of the half, going into halftime up 26-21.

In the third quarter, the Lions played strong defense against the Bobcats, and Penn State Altoona took the lead in the last minute of the period, 36-35, following a layup by Huston. But Pitt-Greensburg took the lead once again in the final seconds of the quarter, ending the period up 37-36.

In the final quarter, the Lions put only 10 points on the board compared to Pitt-Greensburg's 19 points. After overcoming their deficits throughout the game, the Bobcats won with a final score of 56-45.

Senior Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) and freshman Ellie Matthews (Kennett Square, PA/Kennett) each led the Lions in scoring with totals of 12 points. Matthews also led in rebounding with nine, including eight defensive rebounds, and Cannistraci had six rebounds and three assists.

Huston led the team in steals with five, and she also had nine points, five rebounds, and three assists. Emily Marines (Nanty Glo, PA/Blacklick Valley) had seven points and three steals.

In its next game, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will be playing against AMCC opponent Medaille College on Saturday, January 22 in the Adler Complex. Tipoff for that game has been set for 2:00 p.m.