Lady Lions sail past DuBois, 81-58.
By: Matylda Zamudio
MONACA, Pa. — The Penn State Beaver women's basketball kept its win-streak alive after defeating PSUAC rival Penn State DuBois 81-58 at home on Wednesday night.
Junior forward Cheyenne Lopez (Center Roswell/Goddard) and two-time PSUAC Player of the Week sophomore guard Diamond Thomas (Pittsburgh/Carlynton) both led in scoring for Beaver, scoring 18 points apiece.
Freshman forward Jimya Chambers (Phoenix/Westview) earned a double-double tonight with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and PSUAC Player of the Week freshman guard Alexis Cross (Columbiana) also contributed 15 points as well.
1st quarter: DuBois got slightly ahead in the first two minutes of the game (6-2), but Thomas scored 5-straight points to cut the lead down to only a single point (8-7). At 6:11, Chambers scored off her own steal to prompt a 9-0 run and give Beaver a 6-point lead (16-10). Beaver led 18-14 entering the second.
2nd quarter: Lopez facilitated the scoring in the second on an assist by Cross with the team going on to score 6 consecutive points to take a two-score lead over DuBois (24-14). At 6:30, DuBois got the game within 7 points, but it was short-lived as Beaver, once again, built up the lead back to at 11 points after Lopez found freshman forward Mikayla Womer (Jackson/Lakeview) for a layup (30-19). As the first half dwindled down, the defense slowed down DuBois' scoring and forced three turnovers in the remaining minutes, which helped Beaver took a 10-point lead before halftime (40-30).
3rd quarter: The teams matched each other on points in the third, both scoring 18 points in the quarter. But Beaver stayed ahead by 10-points heading into the final quarter (58-48).
4th quarter: Beaver turned up the heat on DuBois in the fourth quarter. At 9:13, freshman guard Emily Keener (Utica) serving up a big block and Thomas getting the defensive rebound, which she followed up with a scored layup to help Beaver edge out a 14-point lead (62-48). Midway through the quarter, Beaver went on a 9-0 run to carve out a 73-51 advantage with under five-minute to go. The ladies of DuBois couldn't recover as the defense held them to only 7 more points. Outscoring the visitors 23-10 in the final quarter, Beaver took down DuBois by a final score of 81-58.
Box Score Highlights: Beaver built its largest lead of 27 points with only 44 seconds to go. Beaver outscored DuBois 52-26 in points in the paint and 16-4 on second-chance points. Beaver also outrebounded DuBois 55-40 and scored 9 more points off turnovers (24-15).
After today's win against DuBois, the Lady Lions improve to a 12-2 record in the PSUAC standings, also improving to an 18-4 overall record for the regular season. The Lady Lions will be back in action to host Penn State New Kensington in their next game on Thursday, Feb. 14. The game is slated for 6:00 p.m.