by McKenzie Quirin

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team trailed by 16 points at the half, and the Lions were unable to dig out of their early hole, falling 87-55 at Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche University on Saturday afternoon at Kerr Fitness and Sports Center.

Penn State Altoona (8-6, 5-3 AMCC) tied the score at six apiece from a Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) layup midway through the first quarter, but La Roche (11-4, 8-0 AMCC) quickly created a big deficit for the Lions, who trailed by double-digit points for most of the day.

Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) led the Lions in their loss with 21 points to go along with five rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) ended her day with 10 points, one rebound, two blocks and four assists. Emily Munson (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Regional) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

For the Redhawks, Makayla Abram and Dasja Anderson scored 27 points apiece, and Jazmine Dunn added 15 points to the La Roche victory.

In the first quarter, Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) tied the game early on with a layup that made it 2-2 for Penn State Altoona. La Roche broke the tie and took a four-point lead, but Sayles put in two free throws to make it 6-4.

Although McCracken's layup at 4:34 put the Lions up 8-6 over La Roche, the Redhawks tied the game back up at eight exactly eighteen seconds later by an Anderson layup. The Lions struggled offensively, as La Roche stole the spotlight, nailing 11 points in the span of two minutes and sixteen seconds of the first quarter. Bisignani's three-pointer cut the Lions' deficit to eight, trailing 19-11, but they ended the first quarter down 23-11 against the Redhawks.

Sayles got the scoring started early for the Lions in the second quarter when she made a jump shot to put the score at 23-13. Down by 12, Sayles helped Penn State Altoona get within eight from two made jump shots. For the rest of the second quarter, La Roche kept the ball and the score in their hands as they built up a large lead, ending the second up 43-27 against the Lions, who held a 16-point deficit.

In the third quarter, the Redhawks and Dunn resumed their strong offense, making a three-pointer early to extend their lead to 46-27. Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) allowed the Lions to close in on La Roche's lead after making a three-pointer that put them down 46-30. Penn State Altoona managed to score in key moments during the last portion of the third quarter and the fourth, but La Roche continued to build its wide lead, eventually winning by a final score of 87-55.

The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team returns home Monday, January 15 in hopes of getting back into the win column, as they compete against non-conference opponent York College (Pa.) at 6 p.m.