by Casey Burinskas

ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona took on Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford on Wednesday night in Adler Arena, and the visiting Panthers handed the Lions their fifth straight loss, coming back in the fourth quarter to defeat the home squad 67-63.

After the lead changed hands several times throughout the game, Penn State Altoona (8-8, 5-4 AMCC) established a seven-point advantage three minutes into the fourth quarter and led for most of the period. But Pitt-Bradford (6-8, 3-5 AMCC) grabbed the lead with under a minute to play, and the Panthers escaped with a four-point victory.

The Lions' Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) led all scorers in the game with a total of 24 points to go along with seven rebounds. Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) finished with a total of 15 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds while also blocking four shots.

Chelsea McCaulsky (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) was third on her team in scoring with a season-best point total of 13. Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) recorded a career-high 12 rebounds and distributed six assists.

In the first quarter, the Lions were first to score, putting three points on the board thanks to a trio of Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) free throws off an early Pitt-Bradford foul. Later, Burns was able to put up three more points on a basket and foul shot to help the Lions regain the lead, 9-8, after falling behind for two minutes. Sayles followed with a basket to bring the score to 11-8, Lions. Pitt-Bradford jumped ahead 17-11 after a 9-0 run, but a three-pointer from Burns and two-point jump shot by Sayles left the score at 20-16 at the end of quarter one, with Pitt-Bradford ahead.

Early in the second, McCaulsky connected from beyond the arc to add three more points to the Lions' score, cutting the Pitt-Bradford lead to 22-19. Sayles made a quick jump shot to keep the Lions within five, 26-21, and McCracken brought the game to a two-point difference with a three-pointer. A Pitt-Bradford foul led to a pair of McCracken free throws that tied the game at 28-28 with 2:52 left on the clock, and Sayles' steal and layup gave Penn State Altoona the lead, 30-28. After McCracken's score put the Lions up by two, 32-30, Pitt-Bradford tied the game in the closing seconds of the half, and the teams reached a 32-32 tie by the end of the quarter.

Following halftime, Sayles broke the tie with the Panthers by hitting a jumper to help the Lions pull ahead, 34-32. Pitt-Bradford responded by going on an 11-2 run to grab a 43-36 lead, but baskets by Sayles and McCracken helped the Lions regain some points. McCaulsky's jumper at 2:27 tied the game for the Lions, 45-45, and McCracken placed another three-pointer in the basket to put Penn State Altoona back in the lead, 48-47. With a final three-pointer in the quarter, courtesy of McCaulsky, the Lions led 51-47 at the end of the third.

Starting the final quarter, McCracken opened the scoring for Penn State Altoona when she made a three-point jump shot, followed by her layup at 7:22 that put the Lions up by seven, 56-49. Pitt-Bradford narrowed its deficit to three points, but layups by McCracken and Bisignani set Penn State Altoona's lead at 61-56 with 2:54 left in the game. However, the Panthers went on a 9-0 run, capped by a basket with 17.1 seconds left that put Pitt-Bradford ahead 65-61. A foul on Pitt-Bradford allowed McCaulsky to sink a pair of free throws to make it 65-63, but the Panthers held the Lions scoreless the rest of the way, and Penn State Altoona ultimately fell by a final score of 67-63.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will travel to take on AMCC opponent Hilbert College on Saturday, January 20 at 1 p.m.