Lady Lions pick up sixth win in a row, squash Penn State York 67-57

HAZLETON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton used a strong middle half of the game to pull away from Penn State York for a 67-57 win in a Penn State University Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Thursday night in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium.

The Lady Lions led by only one, 18-17, after the first stanza, but took advantage of a sluggish second quarter and added 25 points in the third to grab a 15 point lead headed into the fourth quarter. Hazleton pulled in front by as many as 20 in the fourth before York scored the final 10 points of the game to narrow the margin.

The win guarantees the Lady Lions no worse than the 3-seed in the PSUAC tournament, with one more win clinching a first round bye and a home game on Feb. 20th.

1st Half

Much like the night before, Hazleton started slowly as York built a 9-2 lead. Sophomore Kamryn Dodd (Stevensville, Md.) scored four of the next eight points as Hazleton grabbed their first lead at 10-9. The rest of the quarter was even as the Lady Lions led 18-17 after one.

York grabbed the lead 30 seconds into the second quarter on a basket from Karra Thomason, but freshman Haley Nalls (York, Pa.) hit a jumper that would give Hazleton the lead for good. Senior Alexis Daly (Wyalusing, Pa.) and sophomore Alison Vincent (Ashville, Pa.) combined for nine of Hazleton's final 11 points of the half as the team's combined for only 19 points in a slow, sluggish quarter.

Hazleton's defense held York to only six points in the second, as the visitors managed to shoot only 20 percent from the field (3-for-15). The defensive pressue forced six York miscues as Hazleton went into the half with a 31-23 advantage.

2nd Half

Hazleton surged in the third quarter, scoring 25 points to help build a 15 point lead. Sophomore Jacqlyn Siva-Harrison (South Brunswick, NJ) led the charge out of the gate, hitting a three a minute into the quarter and following it with two lay-ups to make it 38-23. The teams would play even the rest of the quarter as Hazleton entered the fourth with a 56-41 lead.

Despite the big lead, Hazleton went scoreless for the first 2:13 of the fourth quarter. York was only able to get as close as 11 before Dodd put Hazleton back up 15 with two straight buckets in the paint. Daly added four more points as the Lady Lions built up to a 20-point lead with 3:37 to play. Despite going scoreless over that final stretch, Hazleton held on for the 10-point win.

Top Performers

Daly managed her ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 boards, and was joined in the club by Dodd who finished with a season-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. Siva-Harrison rounded out the double figure scorers with 14.

Next Up: The Lady Lions take a break this weekend before welcoming NEPA rival Penn State Wilkes-Barre to town on Tuesday, Feb. 9th. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on WYLN.