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Lions drop three straight heading into wintermission

Springsky Chee dribbles on the wing.
Springsky Chee dribbles on the wing.
December 13, 2023

Hazleton, Pa. - After winning their first game of the season a week ago, Hazleton suffered a pair of close calls last week on their way to an 0-3 record heading into the winter break. Hazleton led their home contest with Penn State Schuylkill on December 5 through the first two quarters but a defensively lapse in the third period allowed 21 points to the visitors who went on the win 60-68 over Hazleton in the week's first matchup. The Lions followed up with a weekend road trip in the PSUAC West, falling at Penn State Greater Allegheny 86-42 on Friday, December 8 and despite a great second half comeback on Saturday, Hazleton fell at Penn State DuBois by the score of 49-45, handing the Hazleton Nittany Lions a 1-10 record in the fall semester. 

Tuesday, December 5 - Penn State Schuylkill 60, Penn State Hazleton 58 - Final

Hazleton got solid production in the first quarter that led to a nine point lead late in the frame. Led by a seven point effort from third-year player Azaria Johnson (Richmond Hill, Ga.), Hazleton forced 5 Schuylkill turnovers and held the visitors to just 23 percent shooting to carry the early lead into the second period. Hazleton slowed offensively heading into halftime, but maintained a four point cushion at the break. Fortunes changed in the second half however as Schuylkill went on a 12-2 run midway through the third period. Hazleton garnered just four field goals over the 10 minutes of play allowing Schuylkill to take a double digit lead late in the period. The Hazleton offense bounced back in the fourth period as the Lions got 12 in the quarter from first-year player Bry'Yasia Costen (Charleston, Sc.) and got to within one point of Schuylkill on two occasions in the period, but the Hazleton defense surrendered 18 points to Schuylkill including six from the charity stripe in the final minutes as the visitors kept the Lions at bay to capture the win. 

Costen's fourth quarter effort landed her as the top scorer for Hazleton, notching 18 points on the night. Johnson finished the game with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five assists while first-year player Topaz Williams-Fripp (Beaufort, Sc.) posted 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss. 

Friday, December 8 - Penn State Hazleton 42, Penn State Greater Allegheny 86 - Final

Following a string of close contests, Hazleton struggled following the four hour road trip on their way to face Greater Allegheny. The Lions shot just 27 percent from the field and turned the ball over 33 times on their way to a lopsided defeat. Hazleton went down by double figures after one quarter of play and never got back into the mix. Hazleton scored just seven points in the fourth period, allowing Greater Allegheny to notch 28 in the final 10 minutes of play to double their lead and run away for the easy win. Azaria Johnson finished the game as Hazleton's only play in double-figures, racking up her second straight double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds respectively. 

Saturday, December 9 - Penn State Hazleton 45, Penn State DuBois 49 - Final 

Saturday proved to be a solid bounce-back effort from the Nittany Lions but that wasn't the case early on in the contest. Hazleton trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half as the offense struggled to find any kind of rhythm. Trailing 30-15 at halftime, Hazleton came out and nearly doubled their scoring total as four Nittany Lions pitched in for 14 points in the third. Hazleton had narrowed the deficit after halftime but it wasn't until the fourth quarter when they put DuBois on edge. Hazleton started the period on an 8-2 run and first-year player Jaden Jones (Urbana, Oh.) went for seven points in the quarter as the Lions got to within three points of DuBois. With less than two minutes to play, Hazleton was within one possession of tying the game but Dubois connected on three free throws down the stretch to keep Hazleton out of the win column.

Jones's seven-point outburst in the fourth quarter gave her 16 points for the day to lead Hazleton. Jones added six rebounds and five steals while Bry'Yasia Costen totaled 11 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort.

Next up: The Lions will look to put it all together when play resumes in January and the conference season gets into full swing. Hazleton will kick off the second half of the season on Friday, January 12 when Hazleton hosts Penn State Fayette at 6:00 p.m.