Women’s Basketball Overpowers Alfred State in AMCC Opener
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team opened its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule with a win on Wednesday, when the Lions defeated Alfred State College 74-52 in the Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (4-7, 1-0 AMCC) shook off a slow start to handle Alfred State (3-7, 0-1 AMCC) by a comfortable margin. The Lions took care of the ball, committing only eight turnovers while forcing 16 by the visitors. Additionally, the home team racked up 31 offensive rebounds, which was part of a 59-rebound effort that tied for the third-most in a game in team history.
Penn State Altoona's Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) led all scorers with a season-high 20 points, helped by a 4-for-7 showing from three-point range. She also grabbed seven rebounds.
Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) had 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two steals, and a block. Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) secured a season-best 12 rebounds to lead the Lions, and she also posted team-highs with six assists and three steals to go along with nine points.
Alfred State got 17 points from Faith McCombs, as well as eight points apiece from Falyn Lewis-Ellison and Lindsey Weidman.
Alfred State led for most of the opening quarter before a late run put the Lions on top. A layup by Lewis-Ellison at 4:28 put the Pioneers' lead at 12-8, and two foul shots by McCombs kept her team up, 14-12, at 2:55. But Penn State Altoona ended the quarter on an 8-0 run, getting two free throws from Huston before three-pointers by Burns and Kitko put the home team ahead 20-14.
Penn State Altoona continued its momentum into the second quarter, when the Lions got the period's first two baskets on another Burns trey and a Sayles jump shot. Another Kitko three-pointer preceded her steal and layup at 6:53, which gave Penn State Altoona a 16-point advantage, 32-16. Kitko connected from beyond the arc once again at 4:42 to make it 35-20, but a late 6-0 run by Alfred State brought the Pioneers to within nine, 39-30, by halftime.
Alfred State scored the third quarter's first basket, as Lewis-Ellison's jumper 22 seconds into the period cut the visitors' deficit to seven. But the Pioneers got no closer for the rest of the game, as the Lions grew their lead. Kitko's three-pointer at 5:50 made it 45-33, and her putback layup 29 seconds later made it a 14-point game. Two late baskets from Sayles helped the Lions to a 53-41 advantage by the period's end.
Penn State Altoona outscored Alfred State 21-11 during the fourth quarter to continue to pull away. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) and Burns made it 61-43 by the 7:21 mark, and Huston's three at 6:05 gave the Lions their largest lead of the game, 66-43. Penn State Altoona limited Alfred State to nine points over the remainder of the game, and the Lions finished with a 22-point conference victory.
Penn State Altoona finished with scoring advantages over Alfred State in points off turnovers (19-2), second chance points (27-13), and bench points (26-17).
Women's basketball continues its AMCC schedule with its first conference road game of the season this Saturday, January 7, when the Lions will travel to Hamburg, N.Y. to face Hilbert College at 3:00 p.m.
