by McKenzie Quirin

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team started its season off with a win on Wednesday night against Penn College, when the Lions beat the Wildcats 58-57 at Bardo Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona's (1-0) key contributors put up an impressive stat line as the Lions pulled out a tight win on the road in their first game. Two of the Lions' key contributors were sophomore guard Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) and sophomore forward Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township), who finished the game with double-digit scoring totals.

Burns led all players in the game with 22 points and added three rebounds, three assists and five steals, while Sayles finished second with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals.

Other contributors for the Lions included freshman forward Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) with nine points, eight rebounds and one apiece in assists and steals, junior guard Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) with six points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals and sophomore guard/forward Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) with five points, a game-high 11 rebounds, one assist and three steals. Sophomore forward Camryn Figard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) and junior Emily Munson (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Regional) both contributed two points with one rebound each.

Penn State Altoona started the game with an early 2-0 lead, but Penn College (0-1) came back with a four-point scoring streak, taking the lead 4-2. McCracken hit a three-point jump shot, allowing the Lions to retake the lead by one, 5-4. Making a layup, Sayles increased the Lions' lead to 7-4. Quickly following that, Green made a free throw to extend the Lions' lead to four, 8-4. The Wildcats continued to add to their score, but the Lions defensively held the lead going into the second quarter with a 14-11 advantage.

At the start of the second quarter, the Lions came out strong, as Burns made a pair of three-pointers to add to their lead, making it 20-11. Penn State Altoona continued to push offensively and led by as many as 11 points over Penn College. But the Wildcats rallied to tie the game by halftime, making a last-second three-pointer to even the score at 30-30.

In the third quarter, Penn College led for most of the period, as they continued to put in rebounds, jump shots and layups to increase the deficit for the Lions. Going into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats had a 47-42 lead on Penn State Altoona.

The fourth quarter saw scoring opportunities for both teams. Penn College increased its lead to as many as 11 points, going up 54-43 with 4:51 remaining. But the Lions fought back and tied the score at 56-56 on a Green free throw with 22 seconds left in the game. Burns helped secure Penn State Altoona's road win by making a layup to give the Lions a 58-56 lead at the five-second mark. With one second left, the Wildcats added a point on a free throw, but then missed the game-tying foul shot attempt, and the Lions held on to their 58-57 lead.

Next up, Penn State Altoona women's basketball heads back to campus, as they compete against Penn State Beaver for their first home game of the season on Sunday, November 12 at 7 p.m.