by Casey Burinskas

SCRANTON, Pa. – Penn State Altoona junior forward Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) reached 1,000 career points on Wednesday night, when the Lions women's basketball team earned its fifth consecutive win in a 67-47 victory over non-conference opponent Marywood University in the Insalaco Arena.

Sayles made three straight baskets for the Lions midway through the first quarter to reach the milestone, becoming the sixth player in Penn State Altoona women's basketball program history to score 1,000 points in a career. The junior finished with a game-high 25 points while grabbing 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

Penn State Altoona (6-4) worked its way out to an eight-point lead by halftime, then broke the game open with a 21-12 scoring advantage during the third quarter. The Lions were helped by a defensive effort that limited Marywood (7-4) just a 28.6 percent field goal percentage, including holding the Pacers to a 3-for-20 performance from three-point range.

Madison Rusnica (DuBois, PA/DuBois) added 11 points off the bench for Penn State Altoona while dishing out five assists. Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) chipped in nine points, secured 10 rebounds, and distributed a game-best six helpers while nabbing three steals.

Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) led all players in the game with 11 rebounds to go along with seven points, five assists, and a pair of steals. Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) contributed six points and five boards, and Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) had five points and three assists.

As a team, Penn State Altoona finished with 26 assists, tying for the third-most assists in a game in team history.

Marywood was led in scoring by Rachel McDonald, who finished with 12 points. Olivia Ciullo added 10 points for the Pacers.

In the first quarter, Altoona scored its first points when a Marywood foul led to a pair of free throws by Green. Further into the quarter, Rusnica put up a jumper with an assist from Bisignani to put the Lions in the lead, 4-3. Sayles then scored a basket to tie the score at 6-6, before her jump shot, assisted by Rusnica, evened the score at 8-8. Sayles placed in another layup at 4:46, reaching the 1,000-point mark and tying the score at 10-10. After a Burns basket put Altoona in front, 12-10, Addi Schirato (Salix, PA/Forest Hills) made a layup and Sayles scored another jumper to end the quarter with Altoona holding down a 16-10 lead. 

Coming back into the second quarter, Rusnica landed the first Altoona three-pointer of the game at 8:14 to help the Lions begin to pull away from Marywood. At 6:28, Bisignani drove to land a layup, and McCracken's two points at 4:15 gave the Lions a 23-17 lead. Marywood got back to within two, 23-21, after Ciullo's layup at 2:48, but Altoona was able to hang onto the lead, thanks to six straight points from Sayles to end the quarter, giving the Lions a 29-21 halftime score.

Beginning the second half, Sayles started out with a layup on an assist from Bisignani, followed by Green scoring another layup to make it a 10-point game, 33-23. Later, an offensive rebound off of a free throw miss led to Bisignani making a three-pointer at 6:06, and Green's layup 30 seconds later gave Altoona a 39-23 lead. Scores by Burns and McCracken made it 43-26 with four minutes left in the quarter, and McCracken's three-pointer at 3:27 gave the Lions a 20-point lead, 46-26. Nearing the closing buzzer of the third quarter, Rusnica hit a three-pointer, and Altoona ended the period up 50-33.

Jumping into the last quarter, the Lions' first eight points of the period came from Sayles, helping Altoona to a 58-43 lead by the 3:46 mark. Later, Rusnica was able to land another three-pointer, and Haley Hicks (Wylie, TX/Wylie East) scored a layup to end the scoring and cap a 67-47 win for Altoona.

Penn State Altoona finished its night with a 48-34 lead over Marywood in rebounds, and the Lions also outscored the Pacers 21-4 in points off turnovers, 15-4 in second-chance points, 32-12 in points in the paint, and 8-0 in fastbreak points.

Next, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will return home to take on non-conference opponent Alfred University this Saturday, December 14, at 3 p.m.