by Casey Burinskas

BRADFORD, Pa. – On Wednesday night, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team was on the road against Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford in the KOA Arena, where the Lions grabbed a 77-54 win to snap a two-game skid.

After a pair of tough conference losses, Penn State Altoona (8-9, 5-3 AMCC) got back in the win column through a well-rounded effort. The Lions outscored Pitt-Bradford (2-12, 1-7 AMCC) by nine points in the first quarter, 12 points in the second quarter, and 10 points in the third quarter while holding the Panthers to a 30.8 percent field goal percentage. Additionally, Penn State Altoona made 12 three-pointers, tying for the fourth-most in a game in team history, while grabbing 58 total rebounds, tying for the eighth-most in a game.

Allyana Stephens (Johnstown, PA/Bishop McCort) came off the bench to be Penn State Altoona's leading scorer, finishing with a team-best 14 points. Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) had 12 points, six rebounds, and a game-high five assists, and Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) had her third double-double of the season with a game-best 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points.

Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) scored 10 points apiece, with McCracken also contributing six rebounds and four assists and Sayles having five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Pitt-Bradford was led in scoring by Paige Grotto, who finished with 19 points.

In the first quarter, the Lions were on the board first with a three-pointer coming from Madison Rusnica (DuBois, PA/DuBois), which started the chain reaction for Stephens to put up two more three-pointers and allow Altoona to break away with an early lead of 11-4. Back in with threes, Burns made a three-pointer, followed by Green's free throw. The Lions got another three-pointer, along with a layup, from Stephens, and a late basket by Rakaya Cooper (East Orange, NJ/East Orange) landed the Lions with a 22-13 lead by the end of the quarter.

Back into the second quarter, Sayles put up her first field goal of the night with a jump shot, and Rusnica was on her heels a few seconds later to find the basket for a three-pointer. Burns and Sayles had back-to-back jump shots, which landed Altoona at a score of 31 with six minutes left. With both defenses coming into action, Green was able to put up a jump shot to end the half with Altoona leading by a score of 39-18.

Coming into the second half, McCracken was quick to put up five points with a jump shot, followed right behind by a three-pointer that set the way for Altoona. Green, following in the scoring footsteps, scooped up an offensive rebound and put up another score. On an assist by Sayles, McCracken was back at the basket to place the ball in for another layup. Down to the wire in the third quarter, Burns and Stephens helped secure an even bigger lead for Altoona with two late three-pointers, and the Lions ended the quarter up 68-37.

In the final quarter, Skylar McCall (Cleveland Heights, OH/Cleveland Heights) entered the game and scored her first points with a three-pointer. Halle Kuzminski (Warren, PA/Warren) later made a free throw, followed by Infiniti Lewis (Richmond, VA/J.R. Tucker), who scored a layup after retrieving an offensive rebound. Lewis' free throw and Addy Nardolillo's (Hinsdale, NH/Hinsdale) layup helped Altoona close the game, with the Lions securing a win on the road against Pitt-Bradford by a final score of 77-54.

Penn State Altoona outrebounded Pitt-Bradford 58-31 while also having a 20-8 advantage in assists and a 25-7 edge in bench points.

Next, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will play in the Adler Arena against AMCC opponent Hilbert College this Saturday, January 25, at 3 p.m.