Women’s Basketball Falls to Behrend on Senior Day
by Christina Roukas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team lost 88-56 to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend on Saturday in the Adler Arena.
The game was special for the Lions (10-12, 7-5 AMCC), who honored senior players Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) and Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) in a pregame ceremony.
In the first quarter of the game, Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) scored a shot clock buzzer-beater jump shot to put Penn State Altoona on the board, 4-2. Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) also hit a jump shot to put the Lions' deficit at four, 10-6. The Lions came back to tie the game and ultimately grab the lead before the end of the period, going on a 12-6 run. Kitko's three-pointer made it a three-point game, 14-11, and Sayles' jumper tied the score 16-16. Camyrn Figard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) hit a jump shot to break the tie and give the Lions the lead, 18-16.
Early in the second quarter, Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) connected from the three line to give the Lions a 21-18 advantage. However, Penn State Behrend (18-5, 11-2 AMCC) responded by outscoring Penn State Altoona 30-10 over the rest of the quarter, including a 16-0 run that boosted the visitors' lead to 48-29. McCracken's layup in the closing seconds made it 48-31, and Penn State Altoona trailed by 17 points at halftime.
In the third quarter, Sayles scored on a long jump shot to make it 57-33, but the Lions had a hard time getting into a rhythm offensively. Behrend took a 31-point lead midway through the period, before Sayles' layup made it 64-35. By the end of the third quarter, Behrend had established a 72-38 advantage over the Lions.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Sayles scored a layup to keep the difference at 34 points, 80-46. Back-to-back three-pointers from Kitko and Sydney Barnett (Suwanee, GA/North Gwinnett) trimmed the deficit to 28, 84-56, but Behrend won by a final score of 88-56.
Sayles led the Lions with a season-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds, two steals, and a block. Kitko contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists, and McCracken had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Figard added six points, six rebounds, and two assists off the bench, and Bisignani had a team-high five assists.
Behrend got 15 points from Rachel Majewski, 13 from Madilyn Boyer, and 12 apiece from Morgan Altavilla and Jordan Swartz.
The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team heads back on the road to play against AMCC opponent La Roche University on Wednesday, February 15. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
