ERIE, Pa. – Casie Cygan recorded a game-high 19 points and three other La Roche women's basketball players were in double-figure scoring to defeat Penn State Behrend 72-46 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Saturday afternoon in the Junker Center.
The Redhawks (19-4, 14-2 AMCC) scored 58 of their 72 points in the paint and forced 29 turnovers to remain in a first-place tie in the conference with Medaille. Shataya White posted 12 points, while Danasha Harris and Demetria Coleman each added 10.
Natalie Corso (Moon Township, PA, Moon) led the way for the Lions (3-19, 2-14 AMCC) with 13 points behind three triples and Brianna Bayly (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) finished with nine points.
Behrend started out strong in the first half with a pair of three pointers and a layup from Courtney Greathouse (Knox, PA/Keystone) to tie the game at 8-all. Mackenzie O'Donnell scored six of the next eight La Roche points to push the lead to 16-8.
Layups from Corso and Ally Burke (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) made it 16-13, but Cygan's four points and LaShauna Brothers layup put it back to an eight-point game at 22-14.
The Redhawks closed out the half shooting 5-for-6 from the field to take a 36-20 advantage at the break.
La Roche opened the second half on a 14-4 run in the first six minutes, extending the lead to 52-24. From there, Behrend would double its points and get five straight points from Rachel Razzano (New Castle, PA/New Castle) at the end of the game for a 72-46 final.
Greathouse matched her season best with six points and Brittany Kiger (White Oak, PA/McKeesport) had a team-best nine rebounds.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday against Hilbert for senior day. Tip-off is 8 p.m.