Lady Lions Clinch Second Seed Playoff Berth
The Penn State Beaver Lady Lions clinched the second seed for the PSUAC playoffs with a 101-61 win over Penn State Greater Allegheny.
By: Evan Pinchot
Monaca, Pa -- The Penn State Beaver women's basketball played host to the women of Penn State Greater Allegheny for the team's final conference game this season. The stakes were high coming into this game as Beaver needed to win this one in order to clinch the second seed and a first round bye for the PSUAC playoffs. Looking to be at the top of their game in their last matchup, the Lady Lions came into their senior night confident that they would win this one and do it in impressive fashion.
Beaver came out with a lot of momentum to start off the game, getting the crowd roaring within the first few seconds. Beaver jumped out to an early lead right off the bat, playing with a lot of energy and building momentum with every point scored in the first quarter. At the midway point of the quarter, Beaver had jumped out a 13-5 lead thanks to the efforts of all three Beaver seniors who were the only ones to score in the first 5 minutes of play. Beaver continued to roll with their lead, as they ended the first quarter with a 22-15 lead. Greater Allegheny came out in the second quarter looking to cut Beaver's lead, as they managed to stop their momentum for the first half of the second quarter. However, Beaver managed to rally back through this and continued to dominate offensively as they built a 47-32 lead going into halftime.
The second half was controlled by Beaver, as they had the game securely in their hands through the third and fourth quarters. The team came out playing to put the game away in the third quarter, shooting 66% from the field as they doubled Greater Alleghney's rebounds. The women continued to build up their lead, and when the fourth quarter started they found themselves up 73-50. Beaver kept cruising in the fourth quarter, as they were able to put up 28 points on Greater Allegheny, as they finished off their senior night with a big win to clinch a first round bye with a final score of 101-61.
Beaver's win tonight puts the team iat second place in the PSUAC standings, giving them a first round bye with a conference record of 12-2 this season. The team was led in their senior night matchup by all three of their senior stars. Forward Cassandra Flowers (Pittsburgh, PA / Westinghouse) put up a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Forward Asia Borders (Ellwood City, PA / Lincoln) led the team in scoring with 27 points, and Guard Mason Depetro (Pittsburgh, PA / Cornell) led her offense while tallying a team high 9 assists.
The team has finished their regular season coference play and will head into the PSUAC playoffs with a first round bye. The team will play their final regular season game before the start of playoffs on Monday, February 13, against Pitt-Titusville at home. Game time is set for 6 pm.