Lions Advance to AMCC Semfinals; Oldach Breaks Steals Record

ERIE, Pa.  – Amy Oldach scored a team-high 19 points, while making seven steals and dishing out six assists to lead Penn State Behrend over Mt. Aloysius 80-57 in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) women's basketball tournament on Tuesday night in the Junker Center.

The Lions (19-6) not only advance to the AMCC semifinals, but Oldach broke an 11-year program record to become the all-time leader in career steals. She entered the game only needing five and got two more to surpass Hall of Famer Carrie Nestor '00, who held the record with 296 steals.

Behrend will travel to top-seeded La Roche on Friday night and face the No. 2 Medaille at 8 p.m.

The Mounties (10-15) got 19 points from Lindsy Sammarco and 10 points apiece from Kaylee Keagy and Shavonna Donald.

The Lions scored 28 points on 31 turnovers and dominated the second half to halt Mt. Aloysius' chance at its first playoff victory. 

The Mounties came out the same way just four days ago when the two teams met, taking a slight lead at 15-12 at the 13:53 mark. A fast-break layup from Oldach and a good bucket in the paint from Julia Myers made it 16-15.

Keagy put four points away and Sammarco knocked down a triple to regain a one-point lead at 22-21. The Lions turned up the heat and went 5-for-5 over a three-minute span to outscore Mt. Aloysius 13-2 for a 34-24 advantage.

Donald, who came off the bench, scored the next six out of seven points for the Mounties to close the gap to five-points at halftime.  

Behrend only allowed Mt. Aloysius to score 26 points in the second half and just four points in the opening five minutes.

The Lions continued to make a statement and prove they belong in the AMCC semifinals, taking the lead by a 30-point margin with 2:50 left to play.

Emily Detsch shot 60 percent from the field for 15 points and Kim Pol drained three treys for 11 points. Pol also grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists.