GREENSBURG, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's basketball took a tough road loss on Wednesday night, falling 85-56 to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Greensburg in the Chambers Hall Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (11-8, 9-6 AMCC) struggled to find its groove on offense, while Pitt-Greensburg (13-8, 11-5 AMCC) dominated the boards and created second chance opportunities. The Lady Bobcats posted a 46-22 advantage in rebounds, including a 17-4 lead in offensive rebounds that led to a 20-4 edge in second chance points.

"Greensburg is a talented, gritty team," said Penn State Altoona head coach Casey Wilt. "They played hard for 40 minutes, and we got our butts handed to us."

Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) reached a career milestone in the Lady Lions' loss, becoming the fifth player in Penn State Altoona women's basketball history to reach 1,000 points in a career. The junior entered Wednesday's game with 985 career points, and she scored exactly 15 points in the game to reach the 1,000-point mark. In the process, she passed former Lady Lion Tamara Thomas (2008-11, 2012-13) to move into fifth place on the Lady Lions' all-time scoring list.

"Congratulations to Lex on scoring her 1000th point tonight," said Wilt. "We are super proud of her. She's worked hard over the past three years, and it's nice to see all of that hard work translate into a monumental achievement."

Cannistraci tied for the team-high in points, and she also led her squad in rebounds with six and blocks with two. Sydney Snyder (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) also finished with 15 points while distributing four assists.

Kaley Strittmatter (Williamsburg, PA/Penn Cambria) added seven points and three rebounds, Kassidy Sorichetti (Halifax, PA/Halifax) scored six points, and Finnley Christine (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) recorded five points and a team-best five assists.

Paige Burk (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) chipped in four points, four rebounds, and two assists, and Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) had a game-high six steals while scoring four points.

Pitt-Greensburg's Nadege Durand led all players in the game with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Colleen Murphy finished with 16 points, and Maddie Sitler added 13 points.

The home team grabbed an early lead in the first quarter, staking out a 6-2 advantage after two layups by Murphy and one by Durand. Three-pointers by Strittmatter and Christine cut Pitt-Greensburg's lead to 9-8 midway through the period, but the Lady Bobcats created some space for themselves with an 8-2 run. Sitler's layup with 37 seconds left in the quarter made it 19-14.

Pitt-Greensburg outscored Penn State Altoona 21-11 in the second quarter, growing its lead to 15 points by the intermission. Shaquoia McCray accounted for eight points and seven rebounds during the quarter for Pitt-Greensburg, while Durand scored seven points. McCray's layup at 5:03 put the home team's lead at double digits, 29-18, and the Lady Bobcats went on to secure a 40-25 halftime lead.

Penn State Altoona had its best offensive period of the game in the third quarter, during which the Lady Lions shot 7-for-14 from the field. Cannistraci scored seven points in the quarter, while Burk and Sorichetti added four points each. However, Pitt-Greensburg continued to expand its lead, and the Lady Bobcats took a 65-45 advantage into the game's final period.

"Our best quarter happened in the third because it was the only quarter we carried out our offensive philosophy," said Wilt. "However, we didn't defend well at all. Greensburg is too talented of a team to not defend."

Pitt-Greensburg went on to win the fourth quarter by a 20-11 margin, leading by as many as 31 points during the period.

"Our playoff opportunity can slip right out from under us if we continue to stray from the mere principles that got us wins against other opponents," Wilt stated. "I'd hate for that to happen, but that's the truth. Our conference is too strong and talented to not show up and compete for 40 minutes."

Women's basketball is back at home for its next game, as the Lady Lions face AMCC opponent Pitt-Bradford this Saturday, February 8 at 4:00 p.m. in the Adler Arena. That afternoon will be Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day, with the Brian Morden Foundation, Altoona Benefiting THON, and Go4TheGoal each being involved in various ways to increase awareness of childhood cancer.

Fans attending Saturday are encouraged to bring items to donate to the Brian Morden Foundation, such as children's toys, coloring books, crayons, or other things that can be given to pediatric cancer patients through the Morden Foundation. Monetary donations will also be accepted.