No. 3 Lady Lions bounce back with 76-33 win over Penn State Schuylkill

HAZLETON, Pa. - Three Penn State Hazleton starters finished in double figures as the Lady Lions cruised to a 76-33 win over local rival Penn State Schuylkill in a PSUAC women's basketball game Wednesday night in the Dr. Thomas Caccese Gymnasium. 

Hazleton (13-2, 6-0 PSUAC) built a comfortable cushion after just one quarter, and held Schuylkill under 10 points in each of the first three stanzas as they bounced back from their Monday loss. Schuylkill falls to 4-5, 2-5 in the PSUAC.

The Lady Lions led in every major statistical category on the night, including a whopping 36 points in the paint to Schuylkill's six. Hazleton also forced 21 turnovers, turning them into 23 points.

1st Half

Hazleton jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back. An Alexis Daly jumper made it 11-3 midway through the quarter, and a 14-3 run made it 25-6 after one.

Schuylkill held Hazleton to only 11 points in the second quarter, but couldn't dent the lead with only seven points of their own. The 36-13 halftime advantage for Hazleton was all they needed as Schuylkill cut the deficit to 22 only once the rest of the game.

2nd Half

Sophomore Kamryn Dodd (Stevensville, Md.) sparked a 16-3 run with an early third quarter lay-up as Daly took over to give Hazleton a 54-16 lead halfway through the third quarter. The Lady Lions would outscore their visitors 9-4 over the final five minutes of the third to build their advantage to 61-20. 

Six different Lions scored in the final quarter as Hazleton slowed the pace of the game during their comfortable win.

Top Performers

Senior Alexis Daly (Wyalusing, Pa.) led all scorers with 22 points and recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. It was also Daly's fourth double-double in a row. Junior Stephanie Guevara (North Brunswick, NJ) and freshman McKenzie Prutsman (Jasper, NY) each finished with 14 points, and Guevara added seven boards. Prutsman recorded six rebounds, six steals and three assists to cap an impressive night. 

Dodd barely missed a double-double of her own with nine points and nine rebounds.

Joelle Moyer led Schuylkill with 12 points.

Next Up: Hazleton hosts Penn State York on Sunday, January 24th at 1:00 p.m. Weather may factor into the weekend so stay tuned to www.psuhazletonsports.com for information on Sunday's game.