Women’s Basketball Falls to Adrian in Home Opener
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team played its first home game of the 2021-22 season on Friday night as part of the Mountain Valley Tip-Off Classic, and the Lions suffered a 53-46 loss to non-conference opponent Adrian College in the Adler Arena.
In a game that saw the two teams combine for 49 turnovers while struggling to get into rhythms on offense, Adrian (1-1) came out on top. The Bulldogs shot just 33.9 percent from the field in their winning effort, while Penn State Altoona (0-2) was limited to a 26.2 percent success rate from the floor.
The Lions' Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) led all players in the game with 14 points and two blocks to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Megan Hartman (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) scored 13 points while also tallying four steals.
Ellie Matthews (Kennett Square, PA/Kennett) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while scoring six points, and Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) posted game-highs with five steals and four assists while totaling six points.
Adrian got 13 points and 10 rebounds from Chelsea Palmer, while Kiara Wernette added 11 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Penn State Altoona worked its way to a 15-11 advantage by the conclusion of the game's opening quarter. Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) provided the first score of the game with a three-pointer at 8:55, and Hartman's trey at 5:35 helped the Lions to an 8-3 lead. A jumper from Cannistraci, layup from Hartman, and three-pointer by Huston got Penn State Altoona to 15 points by the period's end.
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, combining for just 17 points. A layup and jump shot by Cannistraci increased Penn State Altoona's lead to six points, 19-13, a minute and a half into the quarter, and Matthews' jumper at 5:21 made it 21-13. Kitko's bucket at the 4:54 mark got the Lions to a 23-13 lead, the team's largest of the game. Adrian narrowed its deficit to three by the intermission, as Palmer's layup cut Penn State Altoona's lead to 23-20 with 1:16 left in the quarter to cap the scoring in the half.
In the third quarter, early free throws by Matthews and Cannistraci, along with a Cannistraci jumper, boosted Penn State Altoona's lead back to nine, 29-20. But the Bulldogs outscored the Lions 12-2 through the rest of the period, leaping in front on Wernette's three-pointer at 1:45 that put the visitors ahead 32-31.
Scores early in the fourth quarter by Cannistraci and Matthews got Penn State Altoona back into the lead, 35-32. But Adrian reclaimed the lead at 6:20 on a Sara Serbantez three-pointer, and the Bulldogs did not relinquish their advantage for the remainder of the game. A pair of three-pointers later in the quarter from Hartman helped keep the Lions within one, 42-41, with 4:02 to go, but Adrian did enough over the closing minutes of the game to hold Penn State Altoona at bay and win by seven points.
Penn State Altoona women's basketball returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, November 13, taking on SUNY Geneseo in the second and final day of the Mountain Valley Tip-Off Classic. That game's start time is set for 1:00 p.m., with both of the day's contests hosted at Mount Aloysius College.
In Friday's opening game of the classic, SUNY Geneseo earned a 76-47 victory over Mount Aloysius.
