Strong first half propels no. 2 Women's Basketball to 68-57 win over PSU Scranton

SCRANTON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton grabbed a 33-19 lead headed into halftime and held off Penn State Worthington Scranton, 68-57, in a Penn State University Athletic Conference women's basketball game Wednesday night. The Lady Lions (14-2, 8-1 PSUAC), who defeated Scranton 81-66 on December 3, earned the season sweep of with the road win.

Senior Taylor Cannon (Hazleton, Pa.) and junior Alexis Daly (Wyalusing, Pa.) recorded double-doubles for the second straight game, and have combined for 13 on the season. Daly scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Cannon added 15 points and 11 boards. Sophomore Kyana Willoughby (Union City, NJ) added 10 points and three assists for Hazleton.

Despite their worst shooting performance of the season, the Lady Lions led by as many as 23 with 10:36 to play. Scranton slowly crept back into the game, but could not dent the deficit enough before time expired. Despite leading the team with 15 points, Daly struggled from the field (3-for-16) as Hazleton shot under 30 percent for the first time this season (29.9 percent). Daly made up for the struggles at the free throw line, finishing 9-for-10 at the charity stripe.

Hazleton's defense stepped up for the second straight outing, forcing three times as many turnovers as they committed and limiting second chance points by dominating the boards. Hazleton outrebounded Scranton 47-26, including 22 offensive rebounds. By comparison, Scranton grabbed only five offensive boards.

Molly Burke and Katie Hart sparked Scranton off the bench, pouring in 15 and 13 points, respectively. Kayla Cavanaugh also finished in double figures with 12.

Hazleton will host Penn State DuBois on Sunday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas Caccese Gymnasium.