Tale of Two Halves; Altoona Defeats Behrend

ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team posted a 70-64 win over Penn State Behrend in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) key matchup on Saturday at the Alder Gym.

Both teams had four starters in double-figure scoring, but in the end there must be a winner and the Altoona Lions (8-11, 7-6 AMCC) were able to build a 32-24 lead over the Behrend Lions (4-16, 4-9 AMCC) and hold on for the conference victory.

Senior guard Ally Burke (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) led all scorers with 23 points, draining four three-pointers. Brittany Kiger (White Oak, PA/McKeesport) posted her team-leading fifth double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The Altoona Lions never trailed in the game and did just enough to escape the Behrend Lions, especially in the second half.

Altoona slowly build a comfortable lead in the first half and took their largest advantage with 2:31 left to play. Nicole Gripp made a three-pointer to give the Lions a double-digit lead at 30-19. Burke scored Behrend's final five points of the half, including a non-tradition three-point play to pull within eight at the break.

Kiger stepped up in the second half and managed to get Behrend back in the game on two occasions. Her layup at the 12:39 mark made it 42-40, the closest the Lions had been since the opening basketball. Kiger then got two free throws to drop, a layup and two more free throws for one-point deficit at 62-61 with 1:38 remaining in the game.

From there, Altoona only missed one of eight free throws and Gripp hit another triple to keep the Lions out front. Gripp secured the win with two shots from the charity stripe with time expiring.

Fontaine Glenn (West Sunbury, PA/Moniteau) and Erika Woll (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lions return to action on Saturday against Franciscan at the Junker Center. Game time is 2 p.m.