Lady Lions fall to Maine-Fort Kent 85-50

Hazleton, Pa. - In their first action of 2020 on their home court, Hazleton fell to the University of Maine-Fort Kent by the score of 85-50. Hazleton kept it close in the first period, but were outscored 50-21 in the middle quarters, leading to the lopsided win for the Bengals. 

Hazleton reeled off three triples in the first three minutes of action, eventually leading to a 13-5 cushion midway through the first period but Maine stormed back to take a three point advantage by the quarter's end. Maine's 13-2 run to close out the first period completely shifted momentum in the game, leaving Hazleton trailing for the duration.

Hazleton would tally just 21 points over the next two periods, seeing the Bengals extend their advantage to as many as 41 points. Bengal guard Ranika Guyton inflicted the majority of the damage on the fast break, tallying 24 of her game high 35 points in the middle Maine was quick to exploit Hazleton miscues after the first quarter, getting out on the fast break and converting 23 Hazleton turnovers into 41 points of their 85 points in the game. The Lions responded in the fourth quarter with a 14 point effort but it was too little too late for Hazleton who shot just 31.6 percent from the field. 

Two Lady Lions notched double figures in the scoring column on Thursday night including freshman Alexa Clark (Effort, Pa.) with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Freshman Scarlet Vargas (Bronx, Ny.) added 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from long range while freshman Katura McCorkle (Philadelphia, Pa.) chipped in with a game high 13 rebounds to round out the top performers on the night for Hazleton. 

Next up - Saturday's PSUAC matchup with Penn State Schuylkill has been postponed to Monday, January 20. The game will take place at Penn State Schuylkill with a 3:00 p.m. afternoon tip-off.