Lions pounce on Worthington Scranton for second straight road victory

Dunmore, Pa. - Eight Lady Lions filled the scoring column Thursday night as Penn State Hazleton (7-1, 2-0 PSUAC)  won handily in their second Penn State University Athletic Conference game of the season. Penn State Worthington Scranton (1-5, 0-1 PSUAC) hung with Hazleton through the first period, but the Lions outscored their opponent by 32 points in the final three periods to win their second straight road game by a final score of 75-39.

1st Half:

Eight early points from freshman McKenzie Prutsman (Jasper, Ny.)allowed Hazleton to jump out to an early nine point lead over the home team, but with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, Worthington Scranton rallied to pull within four points of the Lady Lions by the end of the period. Hazleton picked up the defense when play resumed, forcing 11 Worthington Scranton turnovers and holding their opponent scoreless over a six and a half minute stretch of play. Hazleton reeled off eight consecutive field goals over that span, opening up a 24 point advantage by the half.

2nd Half:

The Lady Lions stingy defense continued following the break, limiting Worthington Scranton to a 16.7 shooting percentage in the third period as they continued to pull away from their opponent. Sophomore Jacqlyn Siva-Harrison (South Brunswick, Nj.) poured in a pair of triples and eight total points in the third quarter to give the Lady Lions a comfortable cushion. Hazleton outscored the home team 44-10 in the middle quarters to put the game out of reach, departing the court with a 75-39 victory.

Top Performers:

Katie Hart provided nearly all of the Worthington Scranton offensive production, tallying 30 points on the evening, including a perfect 12 of 12 from the free throw line to lead all scorers on the evening.

McKenzie Prutsman continued to have the hot hand for the Lady Lions, scoring 21 points on the night. Senior Alexis Daly (New Albany, Pa.) added 14 points, five steals and five rebounds in the victory, while Siva-Harrison scored 12 points with five steals of her own.

Next up: The Nittany Lions return to Hazleton for their first PSUAC home contest on Saturday, December 5th at 1:00 p.m.. The Lions look to remain unbeaten in conference play as they welcome Penn State DuBois to the Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium.