ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn St. Altoona handed La Roche their first regular season conference loss of the season Wednesday evening at the Adler Arena on Altoona's campus by a final score of 91-76.
In the first half of today's game, the Redhawks played a tight contest with the Lions, holding a slight edge over the home team a majority of the first two quarters. LRU headed into halftime with a four point lead.
The second half of the AMCC bout was a different story. Penn St. Altoona outscored first place La Roche 53-34 in the last two quarters, defeating the Redhawks for the first time in nearly three years. Entering tonight's contest, La Roche was 10-0 when leading at the half this season.
The Redhawks committed 15 of their season-high 25 turnovers in the second half. The Lions scored 34 points off those turnovers.
In the first half of today's contest, The Redhawks shot 53% (17-32) from the field. In the second, they shot 32% (10-31). Penn St. Altoona on the other hand shot 57% (30-53) from the floor over the last three quarters.
Danajah Sanders put up a season-high 18 points shooting, 6 of 15 (40%) from the field and 5 of 6 (83%) from the free throw line.
Jenna Cole scored 17 points while shooting an efficient 7 of 11 (64%) from the field and 2 of 3 (67%) from three-point range. Cole added a block and only committed one personal foul.
Dasja Anderson grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds and added 8 points, two steals and an assist.
Ayanna Mazyck was all over the box score, posting 14 points, 8 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Final: La Roche: 76, Penn St. Altoona: 91
Records: La Roche (11-5, AMCC: 11-1), Penn St. Altoona (10-5, AMCC: 8-3)
How it Happened
Through the first five minutes of tonight's contest, the teams played a close game, Altoona holding the slight advantage ahead 7-6. La Roche would finish the quarter on an 11-5 run to go up by six after 10 minutes of action. Six different Redhawks scored in the first quarter alone.
Jenna Cole started off the second by knocking down a mid-range jumper before Altoona would go on an impressive 15-5 run to regain the lead, 26-24 with 4:53 left to play in the quarter. After a much needed timeout by Head Coach Kamela Gissendanner, the Redhawks managed to put together an 18-12 run. LRU led 42-38 at the half. Danajah Sanders and Ayanna Mazyck each had a team-high 10 points through the first two quarters.
The Lions opened up the third quarter on a 7-2 run to gain a one-point advantage. The teams continued to exchange blows and were tied 52-52 with 5:16 to play in the third. PSA then went on a 9-0 run which the Redhawks could never catch. Altoona led 72-64 after three.
In the fourth, LRU pulled within eight after a Jenna Cole layup but that's as close as they got, Altoona would go on to win by 15.
Inside the Box Score
Tonight's AMCC battle saw seven ties and ten lead changes.
The Redhawks out-rebounded Penn St. Altoona 41-37 but the Lions outscored La Roche in the paint 54-34.
La Roche shot 7 of 22 (32%) from beyond the arc.
Dasha Jackson provided seven points and five rebounds off the bench in 18 minutes of action.
Diamond-Jay (DJ) Whittington posted five rebounds, three assists, two assists and two blocks in 20 minutes of action.
Alexis Cannistraci and Finnley Christine of Altoona each scored 28 points in the contest, accounting for 62% of the Lions offense.
Up Next: Women's basketball returns home this Saturday, January 25th to take on Medaille College at the Kerr. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.