Lady Lions sweep Greater Allegheny, Beaver on western swing

HAZLETON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton captured their fifth and sixth straight wins in a weekend sweep of Penn State Greater Allegheny and Penn State Beaver in the women's division of the Penn State University Athletic Conference. Hazleton (10-1, 5-0 PSUAC) now sits atop the standings, a game ahead of Penn State Brandywine, who is the only remaining undefeated PSUAC women's team at 3-0.

PENN STATE HAZLETON - 63, PENN STATE GREATER ALLEGHENY - 46

Hazleton benefited from a strong second half in the first game of their western swing, downing Greater Allegheny 63-46 on Saturday night. Leading 28-26 at halftime, the Lady Lions dominated the second half, outscoring the Lions 35-20 to pull away.

Senior Taylor Cannon (Hazleton, Pa.) scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting to lead Hazleton. Cannon also added six rebounds and three assists. Junior Alexis Daly (Wyalusing, Pa.) added a fifth double-double to her season resume with a 12 point, 11 rebound night. Freshman Jacqlyn Siva-Harrison (Monmouth Junction, NJ) added 10 pints and a career-high five steals to lead the Lady Lions' defense, which held Greater Allegheny to 30 percent shooting from the field and forced 22 turnovers.

Reigning PSUAC Player of the Week Christina Floyd finished with game-highs of 17 points and 17 rebounds, but no other Greater Allegheny player finished in double figures.

Hazleton won the battle of the boards, 49-44, and turned the 22 takeaways into 23 points.

PENN STATE HAZLETON - 72, PENN STATE BEAVER - 63

In a match-up of perennial contenders, Hazleton was once again able to separate themselves during the second half. Tied at 31 apiece at halftime, the Lady Lions were able pull away from Beaver late to walk away with the win, and in doing so hand Beaver their first conference loss of the season.

Harrison scored 14 points and added three assists and two steals for Hazleton, while Daly added 14 points and six rebounds. Cannon was the third player in double figures with 13 points, to go with seven rebounds. Sophomore Stephanie Guevara (North Brunswick, NJ) added nine points and seven rebounds in another solid outing.

Asia Borders scored a game-high 22 points for Beaver, while teammate Morgan Kurtz added 12 for the Lions.

Despite being outrebounded, 42-38, Hazleton's defense held Beaver to 30 percent shooting in a physical game. Beaver went to the free throw line 32 times, while Hazleton made it to the line for 22 attempts. The Hazleton defense also forced 22 turnovers, leading to 19 points.

The Lady Lions return to action on Tuesday, December 9 as they remain on the road with a clash with northeastern rival Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.