Lions Breeze Past Cazenovia In Season Opener

ERIE, Pa. – Ally Burke (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) led four Penn State Behrend players in double figures with a career-high 21 points to help the Lions breeze past Cazenovia 80-43 in the opening round of the Tip-Off Tournament in the Junker Center.

Julia Myers (Edinboro, PA/General McLane) and Holly Bourquin (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) each posted a double-double for the Lions (1-0), who advance to the championship game and will face Washington & Jefferson tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Myers had 11 points and 10 boards, while Bourquin had the opposite with 10 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, Behrend drained 12 triples and Natalie Corso (Moon Township, PA/Moon) was responsible for four of them to end with 14 points.

Megan McDermott led the Wildcats (0-2) with 16 points and six rebounds.

Behrend went ahead 38-24 at halftime and held Cazenovia to just 19 points in the second half to build the commanding lead.

The Lions made four straight shots to start the game for a 9-0 early lead. Seven points by Burke sparked the offense and Emily Detsch (St. Marys, PA/Elk County Catholic) drained a three at the 13:58 mark to push the lead to 17-4.

The double-digit advantage never subsided, however the Wildcats were able to trim the deficit to 10 points with six minutes to play in the first half. An unconventional three-point play by Meyers made it 38-18 for the largest margin of the game so far.

Behrend clamped down even tighter on defense in the second half, but continued the hot shooting for the season-opening victory.

Not only did the Lions dominate behind the arc but they also had a 46-29 advantage on the board and shot 46 percent from the floor.