Women’s Basketball Gets Past Pioneers for Senior Day Victory
by Casey Burinskas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team recognized senior guard Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) in a Senior Day ceremony before Saturday afternoon's game in Adler Arena, then defeated Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Alfred State College 68-49.
After a sluggish start to the game by both teams, Penn State Altoona (11-12, 8-6 AMCC) began to pull away in the second quarter and led 30-12 by halftime. The Lions went on to lead by as many as 28 points during the second half and were helped by a defensive effort that limited Alfred State (6-17, 5-9 AMCC) to a 32.0 percent field goal percentage and forced the Pioneers into committing 22 turnovers.
Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) scored a game-high 20 points for Penn State Altoona while dishing out three assists. Madison Rusnica (DuBois, PA/DuBois) provided 16 points off the bench.
Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) scored 12 points and tied the game high in assists with four. Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) also had 12 points, tied the game high in rebounds with nine, and led all players with six steals and three blocks.
Bisignani and Rakaya Cooper (East Orange, NJ/East Orange) chipped in three points apiece.
Alfred State got 19 points and seven rebounds from Sarah Somers, while Jordan Niles finished with 12 points for the Pioneers.
In the first quarter, McCracken was first to put points on the board with a jump shot and made a layup further into the game. Sayles made her first points of the game with a jump shot, which preceded Burns making a three-pointer to give the Lions a 9-7 lead. Sayles made a final jump shot to close out the quarter and put Altoona on top, 11-9.
In the second quarter, Sayles made a layup for her team's first points of the period, three minutes in. Rusnica made her first basket of the game with a jump shot, followed by Cooper making a free throw to give Altoona a 16-12 lead. Sayles had a steal and was able to secure a layup, with Burns right behind her with a three-pointer to make it 20-12. Rusnica closed out the quarter with a layup, and the Lions took the lead into halftime with a score of 30-12.
The Lions came into the second half with McCracken scoring a layup, followed by a three-pointer. McCracken came back with another three-pointer, and Burns sank a three-pointer to secure a now 23-point lead, 41-18. Adding to that lead, Sayles found the basket on a jump shot, and with a foul against the Pioneers, Skylar McCall (Cleveland Heights, OH/Cleveland Heights) made two free throws. Cooper made a layup at 2:51 to give Altoona its largest lead of the game, 49-21, and the Lions closed out the quarter with a 49-26 advantage.
Starting the final quarter, Burns hit another three-pointer, before Bisignani also sank a three-pointer to make it 55-33. With the three-pointers continuing, Burns was back at it from beyond the arc to secure another three for the Lions, now leading by 25 points, 60-35. Rusnica put up a three-pointer at 4:35 to make it 63-38, and she hit another three with 38 seconds left to end the game with a final score of 68-49.
Penn State Altoona won the turnover battle by a 10-22 margin, and it also outscored Alfred State 11-6 in second-chance points, 14-2 in fastbreak points, and 21-5 in bench points.
Next, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will play its last home game of the regular season this Wednesday, February 19, at 7 p.m. against AMCC opponent Pitt-Bradford.
