Second-Half Surge Gets La Roche Past Behrend

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The La Roche women's basketball team extended their Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) winning streak to 25 games with a 56-42 win over Penn State Behrend on Saturday afternoon.

The Redhawks (16-4, 13-0 AMCC) remain on top of the conference standings to keep an unblemished record after handing the Lions (14-4, 10-3 AMCC) just their fourth loss this season.  Casie Cygan led all scorers with 19 points, including 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

Brittany Wilwohl (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy) was the only Behrend player in double figures with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Not only were the Lions plagued by turnovers, but La Roche outscored Behrend in the second half 35-21 with 12 of those points coming from the line to pull away with the victory.

The first five minutes of the game indicated both teams came out with a defensive plan. Cygan put the first two points on the board at the 15:32 mark of the first half to get the offense going and Wilwohl responded with a triple.

With the scored tied at 8-all, La Roche nailed four consecutive baskets to take a 17-10 lead with nine minutes to go. The Lions got within two thanks to Wilwohl's layup to make it 19-17. Julia Myers (Edinboro, PA/General McLane) tallied the final four points for Behrend, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to knot the game at 21 at halftime.

The Redhawks started the second half with a quick 8-0 run to take a 29-21 lead. The Lions stayed within reach and two more free throws by Myers cut the lead to four points. The next one minute, 45 seconds turned into the Cygan show. She scored the next seven straight points to put La Roche ahead, 38-27.

Behrend could not erase the double-digit deficit with the Redhawks getting their largest lead at 54-38 with 2:43 left to play.

Myers finished with eight points and five rebounds.

The Lions return to action on Wednesday night against D'Youville. Game time is 6 p.m.