Lady Lions trump Hazleton, 86-50

HAZLETON, Pa. –– The Penn State Beaver women's basketball team took down Penn State Hazleton on the road Friday night thanks to a dominant third-quarter performance, 86-50.

Sophomore guard Alexis Cross (Columbiana) led the way with a game-high 19 points, three assists, two rebounds and steals.

Junior guard Diamond Thomas (Pittsburgh/Carlynton) finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists, followed by sophomore Jimya Chambers (Phoenix/Westview), who also finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five steals and one assist.

Sophomore guard Emily Keener (Utica) rounded out the double-digit scoring tonight, where she earned 12 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals for the evening.

With the game tied 6-6 after the first five minutes, Beaver started to crash the boards, which helped them put up 14 unanswered points to bring the score to 20-6 and then a 22-10 lead to end the first. But Hazleton didn't stay quiet in the second and fought back to get with 4 points of Beaver's lead at 7:48 and then made it a 1-point game after converting for 2 points off a steal at 6:42 (26-25). But then with the game tied 28-28, the Lady Lions forged a 12-0 run and finished the first half up by 10 (40-30).

After the break, Beaver controlled the tempo of the game and delivered a 32-10 quarter in the third with Cross and Thomas combing for 15 points, and the defense forced 12 turnovers by Hazleton. Beaver put up another 14 points while, once again, holding Hazleton to only 10 points to take a 36-point road victory (86-50).

Box Score Highlights: Beaver shot 42.9 percent from the field, connecting on 33-77 shots, 44.4 percent from 3-point range on 4-9 shots and 69.6 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 16-23 from the charity stripe.

The Lady Lions (14-3) will be back on the road for another PSUAC match against Penn State Schuylkill Saturday, Jan. 25. The game is slated for 12 p.m.