Lady Lions Push Past Pitt-Greensburg 62-58
ALTOONA, Pa. – A strong fourth quarter propelled the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team to a 62-58 victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe Pitt-Greensburg on Wednesday night in the Adler Auxiliary Gym.
Penn State Altoona (3-3, 1-1 AMCC) trailed by four points heading into the game's final period, but a 23-15 scoring advantage during the fourth quarter helped the Lady Lions come back to win by four.
Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) and Finnley Christine (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) tied for the team-high in points, scoring 17 points apiece and combining to shoot 11-for-12 from the free throw line. Christine also recorded eight rebounds and a team-high three steals.
Additionally, Christine moved into third place on the Penn State Altoona women's basketball program's all-time scoring list. The senior passed former Lady Lion Alicia Glasser (2007-10) and her career total of 1,031 points, and Christine now sits in third place with 1,037 points scored in her collegiate career.
Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) posted her third double-double of the season, totaling 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high three shot blocks. Kaley Strittmatter (Williamsburg, PA/Penn Cambria) added seven points, Alivia Borlie (Belsano, PA/Bishop Carroll) scored five, and Sydney Snyder (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) chipped in three.
Nadege Durand scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Pitt-Greensburg (3-5, 1-2 AMCC), while Maddie Sitler also scored 19 points. Maddy Coddington added 10 points.
Pitt-Greensburg jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, and the visitors led 10-5 after Coddington's three-pointer at 4:10. But Huston helped Penn State Altoona tie the score before the end of the quarter, hitting a three-pointer, making a layup, and sinking two free throws in the final 3:38 of the period to help the Lady Lions knot the score 14-14.
Penn State Altoona started the second quarter on a 6-0 run, getting baskets from Cannistraci, Borlie, and Huston to go ahead 20-14 by the 7:37 mark. Snyder's three-pointer with 2:07 left in the quarter put the Lady Lions' lead at five, 25-20.
Pitt-Greensburg scored five unanswered points to end the first half, using Sitler's jumper and another Coddington three-pointer to even the score 25-25 by the intermission.
The Lady Bobcats grabbed a lead during the third quarter and threatened to pull away. Leading by four points, Durand's layup and Sitler's three-pointer gave Pitt-Greensburg a 38-29 advantage with 2:24 left in the quarter. But Christine's layup and foul shot at 1:02 helped narrow Penn State Altoona's deficit to five points, and she beat the buzzer with a layup to make it 43-39.
Early in the fourth, Christine picked up where she left off by making a pair of layups to tie the score 43-43 by 9:22. Cannistraci's three-pointer just over one minute later got Penn State Altoona back on top, 46-43, and Strittmatter's basket at 4:58 helped her team to a five-point lead, 50-45.
Pitt-Greensburg used a 7-2 run to tie the score 52-52 at 3:05, following two Sidney McCully free throws. But Huston's jump shot shortly thereafter put Penn State Altoona back in the lead, and Borlie's basket at 1:45 made it 57-52.
Christine made four free throws and Borlie tacked on another within the game's final 42 seconds to help Penn State Altoona grind out the four-point conference victory.
With its first AMCC win under its belt, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will look to secure another this Saturday, December 7, as the Lady Lions continue their four-game homestand against new conference opponent Alfred State College. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. in Adler.
Notes: Penn State Altoona women's basketball assistant coach John Nardozza stepped into the lead role during Wednesday night's game, taking over for head coach Casey Wilt, who was under the weather. Nardozza was the women's basketball program's head coach from 2000-05, accumulating 61 wins and two AMCC championships during that span.
