Lady Lions blow out Hazleton, 103-50

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA, Pa. – The Penn State Beaver women's basketball team took down PSUAC rival Penn State Hazleton 103-50 on Friday night after outscoring Hazleton 27-6 in the first quarter.

Freshman guard Emily Keener (Utica) topped Beaver's scoring list tonight with 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Junior forward Cheyenne Lopez (Center Roswell/Goddard) earned a double-double for Beaver with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

1st quarter: Beaver bought the heat early with both sides of the floor, overwhelming the ladies of Hazleton, who had no answer during Beaver's 27-0 run and only allowed 6 points by the visitors. Beaver led by 21 points.

2nd quarter: As the second began, the Lady Lions did an efficient job of passing the ball and setting up scoring opportunities to tack on another 32 points while the defense held Hazleton to only 15 points. Beaver had a 38-point advantage at halftime (59-21).

3rd quarter: In the third, Beaver remained aggressive, and the pressure caused Hazleton to only shoot 33.3 percent from the field on 5-15. Beaver outscored Hazleton 30-18 to take an 89-39 lead entering the final quarter.

4th quarter: Beaver built its largest lead of 55 points at the 1:32 mark (103-48) and only allowed Hazleton to score 11 points in the fourth. Beaver defeated Hazleton by a final score of 103-50.

Box Score Highlights: Beaver outshot Hazleton 50 percent to 27.9 from the field, 54-18 on points in the paint and 31-4 on second-chance points. Beaver outrebounded Hazleton 63-27, racked up 20 more assists (26-6) and scored 16 more points off turnovers (30-14).

With today's win against Hazleton, Beaver sits at a 10-1 record in the conference standings and improve to a 16-4 overall season record.

The Lady Lions will return to action to face Penn State Greater Schuylkill on Saturday, Feb. 9, to play in their fourth of four PSUAC matches scheduled for this week. The game is slated for 1 p.m.