ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team took its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss of the 2023-24 season on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions were defeated 81-60 by Penn State Behrend in the Junker Center.

Penn State Altoona (8-4, 5-1 AMCC) fell behind 21-5 by the end of the first quarter and was unable to dig out of its early hole. Penn State Behrend (7-6, 5-1 AMCC) limited the Lions to a 33.3 percent field goal percentage while finishing plus-9 in the turnover battle.

Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) finished with a team-high 16 points for Penn State Altoona, while Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) scored 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) added 10 points for the Lions, and Emily Munson (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Regional) led all players in the game in rebounds, securing a season-high 11 boards.

Morgan Altavilla scored a game-high 18 points for Behrend, while Julia Balaski, Alexis Furyes and Rachel Majewski finished with 14 points apiece.

Penn State Altoona got off to a sluggish start, and Behrend capitalized by running up a 16-point lead by the conclusion of the first quarter. Bisignani's three-pointer at 7:25 provided the Lions with their first points of the game, trimming an early Behrend lead to 5-3. However, the home team outscored Penn State Altoona 13-0 over the next several minutes, until Sarah Huston's (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) layup at 1:30 ended the scoring run. Behrend scored three more points over the final 1:17 of the quarter to take a 21-5 advantage into the second.

The Lions got better scoring production in the second quarter, when they put 15 points on the board, eight of which came from Bisignani. Penn State Altoona opened the quarter by scoring the first two baskets, as layups from Munson and Sayles made it 23-9 by the 7:34 mark. Chelsea McCaulsky's (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) three-pointer at 6:08 made it a 13-point game, 25-12, and a pair of treys from Bisignani kept the difference at 13, 31-18, by 3:58. But Behrend posted a 9-2 scoring advantage over the remainder of the period and took a 40-20 lead into halftime.

Penn State Altoona got off to a hot start in the third quarter, going on an 11-0 run to start the period and cut its deficit to nine points two-and-a-half minutes into the half. A Burns three-pointer and Sayles layup gave the Lions five points within the first minute, and Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) followed with a basket and two free throws to make it 40-29. Munson's layup at 7:30 got Penn State Altoona to within nine, 40-31. But Behrend bounced back, recording a 22-11 scoring edge the rest of the quarter to establish a 62-42 lead by the end of the third.

The Lions were unable to make up any ground during the fourth quarter, during which Behrend held a slight 19-18 scoring advantage. Bisignani and Burns scored four points apiece for Penn State Altoona in the fourth, but Behrend held a 21-point lead by the final buzzer.

Penn State Altoona finished the game with a 22-10 scoring lead over Behrend in second chance points, but the home team posted a dominant 54-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Penn State Altoona women's basketball returns home for its next game, when the Lions will host first-year AMCC opponent Carlow University on Wednesday, January 10 at 5:30 p.m.