Lions Beat Keuka for First Win of Season
by Christina Roukas
CRESSON, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team won its first game of the season Sunday afternoon against Keuka College in day two of the Mountain Valley Tip-Off Classic, as the Lions beat the Wolves 84-73 at Mount Aloysius College's ACW Center.
The Lions (1-4) started the game with an early 4-2 lead, but the Wolves (2-2) came back with a six-point scoring streak, taking the lead 8-4. Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) hit a jump shot to lower the deficit to two, followed by another jump shot from Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) to tie the game 8-8. Burns made a steal and finished with a layup to take the lead, plus a foul shot to increase Altoona's advantage to 11-9. With just a few seconds to go in the first quarter, Sayles' buzzer-beater three made it 25-16.
In the second quarter, Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) scored a three-pointer to keep Lions in the lead, 32-21, which was part of a seven three-pointer performance by the Lions on the day. Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) also hit a three to make it 36-26, and Sarah Huston's (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) three put Altoona at a 15-point advantage, 41-26. By halftime, the Lions were in the lead by 11 points, 45-34.
Burns' buzzer-beater trey got the Lions going in the second half, making it 48-34. Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) made a layup to extend Altoona's healthy lead to 59-46, but Keuka responded by cutting the Lions' lead to just three points, 66-63, by the early stages of the fourth quarter. Burns once again connected from three-point range, extending Altoona's lead to 10, 73-63, and the Lions won with a final score of 84-73.
Five different Penn State Altoona players finished with double-digit scoring totals.
Sayles led the Lions with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals, and she tied for the sixth-most field goals made in a game in program history with 11. After the game, Sayles was named to the All-Tournament team for the Mountain Valley Tip-Off Classic.
Bisignani contributed 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Burns had 14 points, six assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Huston totaled 11 points, nine assists, and four steals, and McCracken scored 11 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Altoona played strong defense as a team, pulling down 28 defensive rebounds while forcing 17 Keuka turnovers. The Lions also had the fourth-best free throw percentage as a team in a single game in team history, going 13-for-14 (.929) from the foul line.
The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team heads back home to Adler Arena on Wednesday, November 30 to play against non-conference Penn College. Tipoff is set at 6:00 p.m.
