PENN STATE ALTOONA, MOUNT ALOYSIUS WOMEN EARN FIRST ROUND VICTORIES

No. 3 Mount Aloysius College and No. 4 Penn State Altoona each earned victories on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinal round of the AMCC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Mounties defeated No. 6 Pitt-Bradford 74-33, while Altoona recorded the 63-52 win over No. 5 Alfred State College.

Mount Aloysius 74, Pitt-Bradford 33
The Mounties got off to a hot start and never looked back, as they cruised to a 74-33 victory over Pitt-Bradford in the first round of the AMCC Championships. Mount Aloysius opened the first quarter by going up 20-4, fueled by nine points each by Molly Kosmack and Molly Richards. The Panthers outscored the Mouties 16-12 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 12 (32-20) at the half. It was all Mount Aloysius in the second half, as the Mounties held a 33-13 advantage in the final two frames to set the final. Kosmack led Mount Aloysius with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Richards added 15 points, six rebounds and six steals. Annalyn Issacs added 10 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists for the Mounties.

Mount Aloysius advances to the AMCC semifinals on Friday night, as they will face No. 2 La Roche University at 8:00pm at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center. 

Penn State Altoona 63, Alfred State 52
The fifth-seeded Alfred State Pioneers entered Penn State Altoona's Adler Arena hungry and looking for an upset victory over the Lions in the first round of the AMCC women's basketball tournament. The Pioneers jumped out to an 11-6 lead after the first quarter, while also edging the Lions 15-14 in the second, to take a 26-20 lead at halftime. Alfred State built its largest lead of the game with 6:26 to play in the third when a Sarah Somers layup gave the Pioneers a 33-22 advantage. Altoona's Jaidyn McCracken nailed a three 15 seconds later to start a 12-0 run by the Lions that put them ahead 34-33 with just over 4:00 minutes to play in the quarter. After a couple lead changes, the Altoona Lions took a 45-40 advantage into the final quarter. Altoona outscored Alfred State 18-12 in the final frame to set the 63-52 final score.

The Lions were led by Avana Sayles who scored a game-high 24 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds. McCracken added 13 points and eight boards in the Lion victory.

Penn State Altoona will now face No. 1 Penn State Behrend on Friday evening in the AMCC semifinal round. Game time is set for 6:00pm at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center.