Women's Basketball Wins Third Straight To Start Season
The Penn State Behrend women’s basketball team improves to 3-0 with a 72-58 win over Rochester Institute of Technology in non-conference action on Tuesday night in the Junker Center.
ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's basketball team improves to 3-0 with a 72-58 win over Rochester Institute of Technology in non-conference action on Tuesday night in the Junker Center.
The Lions (3-0) never trailed and used a 48-34 rebounding advantage to make an 18-5 difference in second-chance points for their fifth consecutive win over the Tigers (1-2).
Holly Bourquin (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) tied her career high with 19 points and 11 boards for her first double-double of the season. Aly Eagle (Harmony, PA/Seneca Valley) had a repeat performance of Saturday with 15 points and Kimmy Pol (Erie,PA/Collegiate Academy) helped on the glass with six rebounds in the first half to finish with eight.
Leslie Havens led all scorers with 22 points for RIT, while Mallery Apperson came off the bench to get a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lions grabbed a 16-6 lead in the first half with 10:12 left to play off a Bourquin layup. That would be the first of three layups in the paint for the junior added with a Brittany Wilwohl (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy) basket to keep the Tigers at a nine-point deficit at 22-13.
Bourquin and Julia Myers (Edinboro, PA/General McLane) each tallied four points to end the half ahead, 32-23. Behrend shot 15-for-31 (48.4) in the first half while holding RIT to 28 percent shooting from the floor.
With 13:15 remaining in the second half, Eagle drained a three to give the Lions their double-digit lead back but the Tigers made two stops and converted three straight baskets to move in on Behrend at 45-41. Kayla Wheeler made it a two-point game with consecutive layups
From there, the Lions went on a 14-3 run over the next six minutes for a commanding 62-48 lead with 3:16 on the clock. Behrend went 11-for-13 from the line down the stretch to put the game out of reach for RIT and secure its third straight win.
Myers and Wilwohl each contributed 11 points.
The Lions return to action on Saturday at Fredonia. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.