ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's basketball team had a career night, putting up a season-best 43 points in the first half en route to a 79-70 win over Medaille in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Wednesday night.
Erika Woll (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) and Sadie Zielinski (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) combined for 35 points, registering career highs with 20 and 15 points, respectively. Fontaine Glenn (West Sunbury, PA/Moniteau) tied her season-best with 17 points to help the Lions (5-17, 5-10 AMCC) earn their fifth win and avenge an eight-point loss to the Mavericks (8-14, 7-8 AMCC) earlier this year.
MarceAnn Dunning led all scorers with 25 points, draining four triples including a pair in the final 25 seconds of the game.
Behrend not only put up a season-high 43 points in the first half, but the Lions shot their best from the field at 45.3 percent. From the charity stripe, Behrend was 25-for-30 and held a 41-32 advantage in rebounds to defeat Medaille for the first time in two years.
There was no mercy to be had in the first half. The Lions relied on Zielinski's hot shooting from behind the arc out of the game for a quick 22-4 lead with 11:45 showing on the clock.
A quick Mavericks timeout did not stop the bleeding. The Lions, who finished the half with 51.5 percent shooting from the floor, went on to go 6-for-7 over a five minute span to push the lead to 39-17. A quick five points in the last 18 seconds helped Medaille make it 19-point deficit at half.
In the second half, the Mavericks erased the double-digit lead Behrend had built to get within three at 62-59 with 3:58 remaining. The Lions were able to hold off Medaille thanks to free-throw shooting. Behrend made 12 of 16 shots from the line down the stretch.
Ally Burke (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep), who 57 points away from 1,000 for her career, was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards. Brittany Kiger (White Oak, PA/McKeesport) tallied the lone double-double of the game, getting 15 rebounds and 12 points.
Behrend returns to action on Saturday at Mt. Aloysius. Game time is 1 p.m.