Women’s Basketball Bests Wells 68-34
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team earned its seventh Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions took care of Wells College 68-34 at Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (10-9, 7-5 AMCC) was propelled to victory by its defense, which limited Wells (0-15, 0-11 AMCC) to a 30.0 percent field goal percentage while forcing 18 turnovers by the Express.
Infiniti Lewis (Richmond, VA/J.R. Tucker) scored a career-high 11 points for Penn State Altoona while securing seven rebounds. Lexi Colaianni (Pittsburgh, PA/Kiski Area) also scored 11 points for the Lions to go along with a team-high five assists.
Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) contributed 10 points, Sydney Barnett (Suwanee, GA/North Gwinnett) scored nine, and Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) chipped in eight points. Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and led all players in the game with two blocks.
Wells got a game-high 30 points from Trinity Thornton.
Penn State Altoona jumped out to a 16-3 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter, holding Wells to a 1-for-16 performance from the floor. The Lions scored the game's first 11 points, including getting seven points from Burns during the first three minutes. Penn State Altoona got a Camryn Figard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) layup and Burns three-pointer later in the quarter, and the home team took a 13-point lead into the second.
Penn State Altoona had its highest offensive output of the game in the second quarter, when the Lions put up 28 points, including eight from Sayles and seven from Lewis. Three-pointers by Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and Colaianni, along with a Sayles jump shot, provided Penn State Altoona with the first eight points of the second quarter. Back-to-back layups from Colaianni and Sayles gave the Lions a 34-7 lead by the 4:02 mark, and baskets from Lewis and Sayles made it 38-9 by 2:31. A free throw from Lewis, three-pointer by Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township), and jumper from Sayles provided six more points for Penn State Altoona within the final 1:25 of the half, and the Lions led 44-12 by the break.
A basket from Figard and Green's foul shot and jumper gave Penn State Altoona a 30-point lead, 47-17, by 6:36 of the third quarter. Later in the period, Barnett connected on a pair of three-pointers, and Colaianni converted on a three-point play, as her layup and free throw helped the Lions to a 58-23 advantage by the conclusion of the third.
Lewis opened the fourth quarter scoring with a jump shot, and another Colaianni trey put Penn State Altoona's lead at 63-27 at 6:36. The Lions got a jump shot from Lewis at 5:14 and another Barnett three-pointer at the 51-second mark to close their scoring, and the home team wrapped up a 34-point victory over their first-year conference opponent.
Penn State Altoona ended the game with statistical advantages over Wells in points off turnovers (20-3), points in the paint (26-12), second chance points (13-0), and fast break points (18-0).
Next up, Penn State Altoona women's basketball makes the short trip to nearby Cresson to face local AMCC rival Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday, January 31 at 5:30 p.m.
