Lady Lions suffer first setback in loss to Lycoming College

HAZLETON, Pa. - A promising start was quickly derailed as several Penn State Hazleton starters found themselves in foul trouble against Lycoming College, ultimately leading to a 84-65 loss to the visiting Warriors on Thursday night.

The loss is the first of the year for the Lady Lions (4-1, 0-0 PSUAC), who play one more non-conference game before opening conference play in early December.

Top Performers

Sophomore Haley Nalls (York, Pa.) led a trio of Hazleton players in double figures, dropping in 23 points while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Nalls finished 13-of-20 from the free throw line. Fellow sophomore's McKenzie Prutsman (Jasper, NY) and Ijonana Laster (Niagara Falls, NY) added 15 and 13 points, respectively.  

Haley Sipple led Lycoming with 15 points while Kayla Kline and Jenn Grove added double-doubles with 14 points and 12 rebounds and 12 points and 14 boards, respectively.

1st Half

Both teams came out flat from the field in the first quarter, combining to shoot 9-for-33 in the opening 10 minutes. Despite the poor shooting, the teams were tied 15-15 after one.

Hazleton kept pace with the Warriors early in the second quarter, but foul trouble for senior Stephanie Guevara (North Brunswick, NJ) and junior Jacqlyn Siva-Harrison (South Brunswick, NJ) led to a Lycoming run to pull ahead by 10. A flurry of fouls on both teams midway through the quarter kept Hazleton close, but the Warriors were able to extend their lead to 17 at the half, 49-32.

Nalls paced the Lady Lions in the half with 12 points and six rebounds. Prutsman and Laster each added seven points in the half to go along with three assists each.

2nd Half

Lycoming extended their lead early in the third quarter, outscoring the Lions 20-8 in the stanza. Hazleton's poor shooting night continued as they shot 20 percent from the field in the quarter while Lycoming went 9-for-18 to take a 69-40 advantage into the fourth.

Hazleton picked up the pace and their play in the fourth, winning the quarter 25-15, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Lycoming would outrebound the Lady Lions 67-32 and won the second-chance points battle 21-1. Hazleton forced 27 turnovers and scored 23 points off them, but committed 22 of their own.

Next Up

Hazleton takes to the road on Saturday, November 19th when they travel to Clarks Summit University in Clarks Summit, Pa. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.