by Casey Burinskas

ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team got back at it Wednesday night, defeating Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Alfred State College 67-55 in Adler Arena in the Lions' first game since mid-December.

The Lions (8-3, 5-0 AMCC) established a 21-7 advantage by the end of the first quarter and went on to lead by as many as 19 points during the second quarter. Penn State Altoona forced 27 turnovers by Alfred State (3-9, 2-3 AMCC) and held off the Pioneers the rest of the way to win by 12 points.

Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) was the game's leading scorer with 22 points for Penn State Altoona, followed by Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside), who put up 16 points and had a team-high 12 rebounds to post her second double-double of the season. Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) added 11 points.

Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) chipped in seven points off the bench, and Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) distributed a game-high six assists.

Taylor Benjamin and Sarah Somers scored 15 points apiece for Alfred State.

Starting the first quarter, Green made a free throw at 9:24 to put the Lions on the board, followed by a layup from Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and jump shot by Sayles to put Penn State Altoona up by five. Another Sayles score at 7:26 gave the home team a 7-0 lead, and a Bisignani three-pointer at 6:18 set the Lions' lead at 10-2. At 5:19, Chelsea McCaulsky (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) made two free throws to leave the score at 12-4, and Burns made a three-point jump shot at 2:24 to give the Lions an even bigger lead of 19-6. At the end of the quarter, Green made a layup to put Penn State Altoona up 21-7.

In the second quarter, Sayles completed a layup for Penn State Altoona's first points of the period, followed by a steal from Huston that gave her the opportunity to make a layup, which left the score at 25-12 at 7:29. Green also recorded a steal just over two minutes later and found her way to the basket for a layup to give the Lions a 31-14 lead. Burns made her second three-pointer of the game at 3:43 to give Penn State Altoona its largest lead of the day, 36-17. Alfred State pushed back over the rest of the quarter, but the Lions left the first half still in the lead, 38-29.

The Lions came back strong in the third quarter, getting their first points on a basket from Sayles. At 7:11, Green put up another free throw to help push the Lions into a 41-36 lead. Burns connected on another three-pointer at 2:46, and Camryn Figard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) closed out the quarter with a jump shot to end the period with the Lions continuing to hold a lead, 53-40.

Altoona started the final quarter with points from Huston and Burns, and a minute later, Green made a layup to put the score at 59-46. Two more layups by Green and a final layup by Sayles helped the Lions seal another win, finishing on top by a score of 67-55.

Next up, the Lions will take on AMCC opponent Penn State Behrend at 2 p.m. this Saturday, January 6 on the road.