Women’s Basketball Cruises Past Mount Aloysius, 70-52
CRESSON, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's basketball completed the season sweep of a nearby Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent on Wednesday night, when the Lady Lions posted a dominant 70-52 win over Mount Aloysius College in the ACW Center.
Penn State Altoona (14-10, 12-7 AMCC) opened the game by establishing a 22-4 lead through the first quarter of play. The Lady Lions held that lead throughout the rest of the night to ensure a comfortable win.
Penn State Altoona limited Mount Aloysius (4-20, 3-16 AMCC) to a 28.3 percent field goal percentage, and the Lady Lions forced 17 turnovers, which the team converted into 18 points.
"We got out to a great lead and were able to maintain a steady cushion throughout the rest of the game," said Penn State Altoona head coach Casey Wilt. "Every player contributed and played hard. Now, we need to turn our focus to prepare for Hilbert."
Kaley Strittmatter (Williamsburg, PA/Penn Cambria) led the way for Penn State Altoona, putting up a season-high 20 points on an impressive 8-for-11 shooting performance from the floor.
Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) recorded her 11th double-double of the year, finishing with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) added 10 points and a game-high four steals off the bench.
"Kay had an exceptional game, and Lex and Sarah were great contributors, too," said Wilt. "Sarah's defense gave Mount Aloysius trouble, especially when she was pressuring the ball."
Kassidy Sorichetti (Halifax, PA/Halifax) added eight rebounds and seven points off the bench. Finnley Christine (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) also scored seven points to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
Mount Aloysius got 15 points from Lea Sammarco, while Kourtney Walls added 10 points for the Lady Mounties.
Baskets from Christine, Cannistraci, and Strittmatter helped Penn State Altoona get out to a 9-0 lead by 5:34 of the first quarter. Strittmatter's jumper preceded layups from Sorichetti, Cannistraci, and Huston that made it 17-2, and Sorichetti's three-pointer at 2:23 increased her team's advantage to 20-2. Huston's jumper at 1:15 capped the scoring in the period for Penn State Altoona.
The Lady Lions played an even quarter with Mount Aloysius in the second, during which each team scored 17 points. Strittmatter recorded eight of her team's 17 points, including a stretch of six straight points midway through the quarter that helped Penn State Altoona to a 32-12 lead. Paige Burk's (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) layup and foul shot at 2:20 put her team's lead at 39-15.
Penn State Altoona maintained its comfortable lead in the third quarter, boosting it to as many as 34 points. Strittmatter scored eight more points for the Lady Lions in the third, while Cannistraci added five.
Alyssa Hibbs (Richfield, PA/East Juniata) scored five points for Penn State Altoona during the fourth quarter, and the Lady Lions cruised to an 18-point win.
Penn State Altoona finished its night with statistical leads over Mount Aloysius in rebounds (42-34), assists (9-7), points off turnovers (18-9), second chance points (17-9), points in the paint (34-16), fastbreak points (10-2), and bench points (28-15).
Now, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will prepare for its final regular season game, when the Lady Lions host AMCC foe Hilbert College for a 3:00 p.m. game in the Adler Arena this Saturday, February 22. The game is also Senior Day for the team.
