by Christina Roukas

BRADFORD, Pa.- The Penn State Altoona's women's basketball team defeated Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford by a final score of 69-48 on Saturday in KOA Arena.

Saturday's contest was Penn State Altoona's (11-13, 8-6 AMCC) final game of the regular season before the first round of the AMCC Tournament next Tuesday, February 21 against Hilbert College. Tip-off for that matchup is set for 7:00 p.m. 

In the first quarter, Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) made an early layup to tie the game, 2-2, followed by a three from Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette) to break the tie and take the lead, 5-2. Burns' strong defense led to a steal from Pitt-Bradford (3-21, 1-13 AMCC) that resulted in her making a layup to increase the Lions' lead to 11-4. Camyrn Figard (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) made a layup to extend the Lions' lead to 11 points, 20-9, and Jaidyn McCracken's (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the period gave Penn State Altoona a 26-9 advantage.

Two minutes into the second quarter, a jump shot from Burns made it 30-12. Sayles scored a basket late in the period, and by halftime, the Lions held a nine-point lead, 36-27.

Pitt-Bradford came back in the third quarter to narrow its deficit to five, 38-33. However, Sayles recorded a steal that led to a layup to make it 40-33, and Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) hit two three-pointers to increase the advantage to 46-33. Burns also connected from the three line in the closing seconds of the quarter to make it 53-37.

Penn State Altoona was able to maintain its lead throughout the fourth quarter. A layup from Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) plus a foul shot put the Lions' lead at 65-46, and McCracken's three-pointer with under a minute to go gave her team a 21-point lead, 69-48, that would represent the final score.

Sayles led the Lions with 20 points and 21 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season, and her total of 21 rebounds set a new Penn State Altoona women's basketball single-game rebounds record. She also finished the game with four steals and two blocks.

Burns contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, and McCracken had 13 points, a team-high six assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Kitko also scored 12 points and had four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

Trinity Lockwood-Morris led Pitt-Bradford in scoring and rebounds, finishing the game with 15 points and eight boards.

Now, Penn State Altoona has the number four seed in the upcoming AMCC Tournament and will host fifth seed Hilbert this Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. The winner of that game advances to the AMCC semifinal against top seed La Roche University on Friday, February 24 at 6:00 p.m.