Second Half Sinks Lions in Loss to Hilbert
by Christina Roukas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team held a nine-point lead over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College at halftime of Saturday afternoon's game in the Adler Arena, but the visitors rallied in the second half to hand the Lions a 62-54 defeat.
Penn State Altoona (8-10, 5-3 AMCC) worked its way to a 36-27 advantage by halftime, but Hilbert (7-12, 3-5 AMCC) outscored the Lions 35-18 during the second half to charge back and win the game.
In the first quarter, Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) made a pair of three-pointers to help Penn State Altoona to an early 6-2 lead, followed by a layup from Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) that made it 8-2. Jordan Bisignani's (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) layup put the Lions' lead at five, 10-5, and Sayles hit a jump shot to make it 12-5. Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) scored a layup to put the Lions up 16-7, and Penn State Altoona eventually ended the first quarter with a 16-11 lead.
Burns connected once again from the three-point line early in the second quarter to make it 23-16, and Sayles also made a three to put her team up 26-18. An Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) three extended the Lions' advantage to 10 points, 31-21. Late in the quarter, Burns made another three-pointer and Sayles hit a jump shot, and Penn State Altoona went into halftime in the lead, 36-27.
Midway through the third quarter, Burns made a layup to keep her team's lead at nine points, 43-34, but Hilbert responded with an 11-2 run over the rest of the period to tie the game, 45-45.
After Hilbert broke the tie early in the fourth quarter, Sayles' jump shot tied things back up at 47-47. The Hawks jumped ahead again, but Burns answered with a jump shot to even the score at 49. Kitko's three-pointer at 6:14 put Penn State Altoona in front, 52-51, and Sayles' jump shot made it 54-53. But Hilbert held the Lions scoreless over the last five minutes of the game, coming back to take a 55-54 lead with two minutes to play and eventually winning by eight.
Sayles led the Lions with 21 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks, while Burns contributed 18 points, three assists, and three rebounds. Kitko had 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Bisignani tied Sayles for the team lead in rebounds with eight while also leading her team with four assists.
Hilbert got 21 points from Ashley Schroeder, and Mackenzie Catan added 12 points. The Hawks also got 12 rebounds from Maria Spinelli.
The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team's next game is at home in Adler Arena against local AMCC rival Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday, February 1. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
