ERIE, Pa. – Heidi Langhorst (Corapolis, PA/Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the double-double to lead Penn State Behrend women's basketball team past Penn State Altoona 85-60 in the final regular-season Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) game on Saturday at the Junker Center.
The Behrend Lions (10-15, 9-9 AMCC) secured the No. 5 seed for the upcoming AMCC playoffs and will travel to Mt. Aloysius on Wednesday for first-round action.
Katie Chess (Bethel Park, PA/Bethel Park) went 8-for-10 from the floor to match her season-best 18 points, while Rachael Razzano (New Castle, PA/New Castle) celebrated senior day with tying her career high of 15 points.
Altoona (6-16, 6-12 AMCC) had three players in double figures, led by Brittany Boslet's 15 points.
In a game that had playoff implications, the Behrend Lions need to take care of business on their end to break a three-way tie for sixth place. The first five minutes showed Behrend came ready to send the seniors off in style, gaining a 10-point lead that would result in a 25-point decision.
Razzano tallied the first eight out of 10 points for the Lions and Chess added six points while Erika Woll (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) got her first layup at the 4:39 mark for a 19-9 lead. The Behrend Lions would close out the half on a 9-5 spurt for a 14-point advantage at 28-14.
It didn't take long for the double-digit lead to grow to 20 in the second period after an Emily Kinecki (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) layup with five minutes to play at 37-16. The Behrend Lions never looked back in the third and fourth quarter to snap a three-game losing skid and advance to the AMCC Tournament for the second straight season.
As a team, Behrend pulled down a season-best 57 rebounds and shot 44.1 percent from the floor.
Kinecki finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lions will travel to Cresson, Pa., to take on the Mounties at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the No. 1 seed La Roche for the semifinals on Friday.
