The Behrend Lions entered the day at 7-5 in conference play looking to move up in the AMCC ranks and did just that improving to 10-9 overall and 8-5 in league play after rolling to an 88-16 win over the visiting Hilbert Hawks.
Behrend jumped on the Hawks early forcing a visitor timeout just
over a minute into the game with the blue and white ahead
5-0. Behrend continued its pressure defense to force Hilbert
turnovers and create easy scoring chances on the other end.
The blue and white shot 62% from the floor in the first half, while
limiting the chances for the visitors.
The Behrend Lions forced 27 turnovers and used a 19-10 advantage on
the boards to build a dominant 49-4 lead at the break. Rachel
Richardson (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) scored all ten of her
points in the first half while Christine Krankota (Conneaut Lake,
Pa./Conneaut Lake) chipped in seven points and grabbed seven
rebounds. Krankota notch a double-double with 11 points and
ten rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
In the second half the blue and white again shot 62% from the floor
and saw ten players score points. Natalie Engel (McDonald, Pa./Fort
Cherry) led all scorers with 18 points, while Kelly Nowacinski
(Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) had 16 in the win over the Hawks (0-20,
0-13).
Also contributing in the Behrend win were Amy Oldach (Erie,
Pa./Villa Maria Academy) who had six points, six assists, and eight
steals and Kim Pol (Erie, Pa./Central) who dropped eight points and
grabbed four boards.
The Behrend Lions will be back in the Junker Center on Saturday,
February 7 at 1 p.m. to take on Penn State Altoona in another AMCC
match-up. They will then hit the road for three straight
conference games before closing out the year at home against
Pitt-Bradford on February 21 at 6:00 p.m.