Lady Lions storm past Greater Allegheny, 70-47
By: Matylda Zamudio
Monaca, Pa. – The Penn State Beaver women's basketball team took down conference rival Penn State Greater Allegheny on Monday night, capturing the team's fifth PSUAC conference win of the season.
Freshman guard Alexis Cross (Columbiana) topped Beaver's scoring list with a game-high 18 points followed by junior forward Cheyenne Lopez (Center Roswell/Goddard), who earned a double-double with 11 points and 18 rebounds. Two-time PSUAC Player of the Week, sophomore guard Diamond Thomas (Pittsburgh/Carlynton) and freshman guard Emily Keener (Utica) each dished out 10 points apiece for Beaver as well.
1st quarter: The Lady Lions set the tone early, going on a 15-4 run in the first five and a half minutes of the game. As the quarter proceeded, Allegheny felt the pressure from the defense and was forced to take contested shots. The Lady Lions displayed efficient rebounding on both sides of the floor to propel the team to a 16-point lead heading into the second quarter (22-6).
2nd quarter: The defense continued to play tough, holding Allegheny to a single digit score down to the 2:57 mark and slowly building up the deficit (33-9). After detaining Allegheny to only 4 points in the final minutes of the quarter, Beaver took a 24-point lead before halftime (38-14).
3rd quarter: After the break, the defense derailed Allegheny from scoring for the first two and a half minutes (44-14) and the Lady Lions held a 30-point lead for most of the third, closing the quarter 61-30. While the teams were closer on scoring, Beaver hit 6-7 from the free-throw line give the team a 7-point edge and outscore Allegheny 23-16 in the third.
4th quarter: While Allegheny performed better in the fourth, outscoring the Lady Lions 17-9, the heavy deficit was too much for the visitors to overcome, and Beaver won with a final score of 70-47.
Box Score Highlights: Beaver shot 14.6 percent higher than Allegheny from the field and shot 70.8 percent from the charity stripe, hitting 17-24 free throws. Beaver outscored Allegheny 32-20 in the paint, 18-12 on points off turnovers, racked up four more assists and allowed six fewer turnovers. Beaver also built its largest lead of 35 points at the 3:59 mark in the fourth quarter.
After tonight's win, the Lady Lions improve to a 5-0 record in the PSUAC standings with an 11-2 overall record for the regular season. Beaver will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 12, as the Lady Lions travel to Penn State Fayette for the team's second of seven straight conference matches. The game is slated for 1 p.m.