Hazleton secures no. 3 seed in east with win at Wilkes-Barre

Hazleton, Pa. - The Nittany Lions needed a win on Thursday at Penn State Wilkes-Barre and that's exactly what they got. Hazleton dominated the middle quarters, steadily building their lead until the final horn, taking the regular season finale by a score of 81-44 and earning the number three seed in the PSUAC Eastern Division playoffs. 

Hazleton won across the board in the stat columns on Thursday. The Lions shot over 42 percent from the field, including 12 three pointers throughout the game, compared to just 28.6 percent shooting for the Wilkes-Barre squad. Hazleton won handily in the rebounding totals, wrangling 38 missed shots to just 29 for the visitors while turning the ball over just 12 times in the win. Hazleton was led by sophomore Cassandra Rodriguez (League City, tx.) who served up her highest scoring game of the year. The sophomore went for 31 on the night, connecting on 8-of-18 attempts from beyond the arc. Senior Natasha Feliciano (Cainovas, PR) added 17 points along with five rebounds and four assists while senior Justine Bernazeau (Trelissac, FR) pitched in a 10 point effort on 5-of-10 shooting. Sophomore Rocky Curry (Darby, Pa.) added 10 points herself to round out the top scorers for Hazleton while totaling a game-high 17 rebounds. 

Next up: Hazleton locks up the three seed in the east and will take on Penn State Lehigh Valley in the first round of the PSUAC playoffs which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 5:00 p.m. in Stabler Arena at the Lehigh University Campus.