Lady Lions suffer defeat to Clarks Summit

Hazleton, Pa. - Fresh off their second straight win of 2020, the Lady Lions succumbed to the Defenders of Clarks Summit University who poured in 15 triples on the night to secure a 74-56 win over Hazleton.

The Lady Lions started off slow, falling behind 18-4 in the first five minutes of play. Clarks Summit went 7-for-13 over that early stretch of play, pouring in four baskets from beyond the arc to put Hazleton in a tough spot. By the quarters' end Hazleton would trail 24-11 but the Lions would go on to climb back into contention as the Defender outside attack cooled off in the second period. Trailing 31-14, the Lady Lions struck for 12 straight points to close out the half. Freshman Alexa Clark (Effort, Pa.) kicked off the run which paved the way for back to back triples by freshman Scarlet Vargas (Bronx, Ny.). Freshman Katura McCorkle (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished off the half with a pair of lay ups to cut the deficit to just six points heading into halftime. 

Hazleton would get within five points midway through the third frame, but the Defender outside shooting was back on point in the second half. Clarks Summit's Alison Aten connected on 4-of-6 from long range in the period, stretching the Defender lead back to double figures by the four minute mark in the third. Aten would add two more of her game high seven three pointers in the fourth quarter as Clarks Summit continued to build on their advantage. Katura McCorkle added 10 second half points in an effort to keep it close but the Lions were unable to withstand the outside shooting of the Defenders who went 9-for-20 from beyond the arc in the second half on their way to an 18 point victory. 

McCorkle finished the night with a team high 19 points, adding six rebounds in the loss while Scarlet Vargas pitched in four triples to total 12 points with a team high five assists.

Next up: Hazleton gets two days off before hitting the hardwood over the weekend against a pair of teams from the Penn State University Athletic Conference western division. Hazleton will host Penn State Beaver on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium.