ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's basketball secured a 79-51 victory over visiting Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford on Saturday in the Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (12-8, 10-6 AMCC) used a steady effort to take care of business and record the season sweep of Pitt-Bradford (2-20, 2-13 AMCC). The Lady Lions were led by a defensive effort that held the Lady Panthers to a 27.8 percent field goal percentage for the game. Meanwhile, each member of the Penn State Altoona starting lineup finished with double digit point totals.

"It feels good to get back in the win column," said Penn State Altoona head coach Casey Wilt. "Tonight's effort was a complete team effort. I felt like we scrapped tonight, which turned into some very nice points off of turnovers. And let's be honest – it's always nice to see all five starters finish in double figures."

Sydney Snyder (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) led all scorers in the game with 20 points, including connecting on six three-pointers to tie for the third-most threes made in a single game in Penn State Altoona women's basketball history. Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) picked up her team-leading seventh double-double of the season, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points. Cannistraci also tied for the game-high in assists with five and led all players in blocks with three.

Kaley Strittmatter (Williamsburg, PA/Penn Cambria) scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Finnley Christine (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) added 11 points and four boards, and Paige Burk (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds.

"Syd had a great outside game. The team moved the ball well, and we worked the inside-out game to open up those outside shot opportunities," said Wilt. "I thought Kay had a really nice all-around game. She was a consistent scorer for us throughout four quarters."

Off the bench, Kassidy Sorichetti (Halifax, PA/Halifax) chipped in seven rebounds, Chloe Inman (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona) recorded five rebounds and two blocks, and Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) tallied five assists to tie for the game-high.

Pitt-Bradford got 12 points and seven rebounds from Shirleah Ragin, and Shaelyn Snipes added 10 points and four assists.

"Bradford is tough. They have scoring threats inside and on the perimeter," explained Wilt. "Our bigs did a nice job on [La'Shyra] Williams and [Jenna] Hicks. Our guards were challenged with the task of limiting Ragin and Snipes. Ragin had eight points after two quarters, and after we tightened up on her, she only had four in the second half."

Down 7-4 early in the first quarter, Penn State Altoona embarked on an 11-0 run to change the momentum. Three-pointers from Snyder and Christine put the home team up by three, and after Burk scored a layup, Snyder hit from beyond the arc again at 4:13 to give her squad a 15-7 advantage. Baskets from Strittmatter and Christine within the last 1:19 of the quarter helped Penn State Altoona carry a 19-13 lead into the second.

The Lady Lions started the second quarter with jumpers by Strittmatter and Cannistraci. Later, two more three-pointers by Snyder and a trey from Cannistraci increased Penn State Altoona's lead to 32-20. Burk connected from downtown with 48 seconds to go, and Strittmatter's layup at the 21-second mark made it 38-25 going into halftime.

Pitt-Bradford worked back to within nine points early in the third quarter, but Penn State Altoona responded with a Christine layup and free throws from Snyder and Strittmatter. Burk's three-pointer at the midway point of the period set her team's lead at 47-31, and layups from Sorichetti and Inman and a pair of Huston foul shots helped Penn State Altoona to a 52-36 advantage by the quarter's end.

Penn State Altoona accumulated a game-high 26 points during the fourth quarter, helped by an 11-for-16 showing at the free throw line that was part of a 17-for-22 performance at the line during the second half – this after the team made just one trip to the foul line in the first half.

"We got on the ladies about only making it to the line one time in the first half," said Wilt. "We did a much better job of attacking the basket in the second half."

Snyder opened the fourth quarter scoring with another three-pointer, and layups from Christine and Inman gave the Lady Lions a 20-point lead, 60-40. Snyder and Cannistraci each made another three-pointer during the rest of the period, while Burk, Huston, Cannistraci, Strittmatter, Kaitlin Deal (West Deptford, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology), and Kassidy McChessney (Williamsburg, PA/Williamsburg) combined to make 11 free throws to help ice the win.

Penn State Altoona finished the game with statistical leads over Pitt-Bradford in rebounds (53-40), assists (18-10), points off turnovers (19-10), and second chance points (11-3).

Next, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team heads back into non-conference play, as the Lady Lions will travel to face Grove City College this Wednesday, February 12 at 5:30 p.m.