Women’s Basketball Returns to Action, Loses to Hilbert
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team took the court for the first time in 24 days on Friday afternoon, and the Lions suffered a 62-51 defeat at the hands of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College in the Adler Arena.
Hilbert (4-12, 3-4 AMCC) worked its way to an 11-point lead, but Penn State Altoona (2-11, 1-5 AMCC) made a strong second half push to get within one point during the fourth quarter. However, the visitors came up with enough answers late in the game to pull out the win.
Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) led all scorers with a season-high 21 points for Penn State Altoona, powered by her 7-for-12 performance from three-point range. Kitko's total of seven three-pointers made ties for the most threes made in a single game in Penn State Altoona women's basketball history, and her 58.3 percent three-point percentage is the eighth-best in a single game. She also tied for the team-high with three steals and added three rebounds and a block.
Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) contributed 14 points, four rebounds, three steals, and tied for the game-high in blocks with two. Ellie Matthews (Kennett Square, PA/Kennett) posted her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks. Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) tied for the game-high in assists with seven, and she also scored four points, grabbed three rebounds, and tallied three steals.
Ashley Schroeder led Hilbert with 19 points and seven assists, while Mackenzie Catan had 15 points. Macy Kiser contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, and Kendyl Kerner secured a game-high 13 boards.
Kitko opened the first quarter scoring with a three-pointer at 9:04, but Hilbert scored seven straight points to take a 7-3 lead by the 7:18 mark. Two free throws by Matthews halfway through the period helped Penn State Altoona get back on top, 8-7, and Cannistraci's layup at 1:58 kept her team's lead at one, 10-9. But Hilbert took a 14-10 lead by the conclusion of the quarter, getting two foul shots from Kisner and a last-second, deep three-pointer from Alesia Hamm.
The Hawks widened their lead to seven by halftime, outscoring Penn State Altoona by a slim three-point margin during the second quarter. Layups by Kisner and Hamm helped Hilbert to a 20-15 advantage by 6:35, and Catan connected from three-point range at 3:44 to boost her team's lead to 23-17. Kitko's trey at 2:34 narrowed the Lions' deficit to 23-20, but Schroeder scored a pair of layups later in the period to help the Hawks to a 27-20 lead by halftime.
Penn State Altoona made up a little ground during the third quarter, posting a two-point scoring edge over Hilbert. After Schroeder's layup at 8:41 that gave Hilbert its largest lead of the game, 31-20, a Kitko three-pointer and Cannistraci jumper cut the Hawks' lead to six, 31-25. Later in the period, two jump shots by Matthews brought Penn State Altoona to within five, 42-37.
The Lions kept their momentum going into the fourth quarter. Another Kitko three-pointer at 5:37 made it a four-point game, 50-46, and Cannistraci converted a three-point play at 5:08 to cut Hilbert's lead to just one, 50-49. However, Hilbert responded with a 6-0 run through the 2:47 mark to widen the gap, and the Hawks eventually reclaimed their 11-point lead following two Kisner foul shots at 1:12.
Penn State Altoona led Hilbert in points off of turnovers (22-18) and second chance points (8-2), while Hilbert held advantages in points in the paint (32-16) and fastbreak points (14-4).
Women's basketball gets back to action tomorrow, Saturday, January 15 with another AMCC home game, as the Lions will host conference opponent Penn State Behrend at 2:00 p.m. in the Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona will be hosting a food drive at Saturday's basketball game to benefit the campus' Ivyside Eats program that assists students in need of food and other supplies. All fans who bring a donation will receive free entry to both games of the women's and men's doubleheader. Suggested items to donate include single serve food items (i.e. pudding, soup, apple sauce), as well as other items such as soap, shampoo, pens, or notebooks.
