Lady Lions fall at home to Brandywine

Hazleton, Pa. - The Lady Lions dropped their third straight conference game on Monday night when they played host to the second ranked team in the east in Penn State Brandywine. Hazleton did well to battle through the first two periods but a big run by Brandywine to start the second half put the game away by the final score of 72-27. 

It was a tough shooting night for the Lady Lions, though Hazleton was able to stick with Brandywine through first behind 18 first half free throw attempts. Sophomore Lauren Pataki (Hazleton, Pa.) drove her way to the line for six points from the stripe and an 11 point half individually, keeping Hazleton within reach of Brandywine who shot just 29 percent from the field in the first two quarters. 

As play resumed Brandywine took over, starting the period on a 22-0 run that sealed up the game. The visitors would go on to force 21 second half turnovers by the Lady Lions and finish the game with 29 points off Lady Lion miscues. Hazleton would try to cut into the deficit from beyond the arc but net just 2-of-18 from long range in the loss. 

Pataki led all Hazleton scorers with 13 points, adding seven rebounds while freshman Hayley Fellin (Hazleton, Pa.) added five points and a game high 13 rebounds to round out the top performers on the night for the Lady Lions.

Next up: Two games remain for the Lady Lions who still have playoff aspirations in mind. Both games will be huge down the stretch as Hazleton will face their main competition for the final remaining spots in the postseason. Hazleton will travel on Thursday to face Penn State York before hosting Penn State Scranton on Friday to finalize the regular season.