ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's basketball team clinched a spot in the upcoming Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) playoffs with a convincing 59-41 victory over Hilbert on senior night at the Junker Center on Wednesday evening.
The Lions (11-13, 9-8 AMCC) snapped the Hawks (18-6, 15-2 AMCC) 11- game winning streak and handed them their second conference loss to earn their 19th AMCC Tournament appearance in program history. Kourtney Beamesderfer (Rebersburg, PA/Penns Valley) tied her season best with 18 points, while senior Erika Woll (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line for 17 points.
Ashley Repine paced Hilbert with 15 points and Kesli Ebert posted a double-double with 12 points, 10 boards.
Five points separated Behrend and the Hawks after the first three quarters. The Lions held Hilbert without a field goal in the entire fourth quarter, allowing just four points from the free-throw line to outscore the Hawks 17-4 and even the regular-season series.
Hilbert held its only lead in the first 2:30 of the game at 4-2 and Beamesderfer drained one of her four triples to give Behrend a 5-4 lead that would not relinquish. The Lions tried to make a run at double-digit leads and made it to eight on multiple occasions including four times in the third quarter. With a three-point edge at halftime, 27-24, Repine hit a jumper before Behrend went on a 7-0 run to make it 34-26. A layup by Katelyn Proy with 27 seconds left in the third cut the lead to five and was the last field goal the Hawks would score in the game.
Back-to-back three pointers by Beamesderfer stretched the lead to double-digits out of the gate in the fourth quarter at 48-37. Stingy defense and determination led to Behrend picking up one last win on their home court this season. The Lions went 7-for-15 from the field in the fourth, while holding Hilbert 0-for-9 shooting.
Autumn Byes (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy) had her fifth double-digit rebounding game with a team-led 10 boards.
The Lions return to action on Saturday at Penn State Altoona for their final regular-season contest. Game time is 6 p.m.