Fourth-Quarter Burst Lifts Medaille Past Behrend

BUFFALO, NY – Morgan Kennedy scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half to lift the Medaille women's basketball team past Penn State Behrend 77-66 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Wednesday night.

Back in conference action for the first time in the New Year, the Mavericks (6-6, 3-2 AMCC) broke the tie in the conference between the two teams by outlasting the Lions (4-8, 2-3 AMCC) in the fourth quarter. Medaille scored more points in the final quarter than the first two periods combined (31-27).

Dani Reinwald led the Mavericks with 24 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor (10-of-15).

Behrend got a team-high 20 points from Erika Woll (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep), while Autumn Byes (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy) added 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Medaille managed to outlast the Lions in the final quarter, but also had an advantage at the free-throw line with 20 attempts to Behrend's eight and pulling down 14 more rebounds.

The Lions had their largest lead at seven points with a 48-41 margin in the third quarter, but the Mavericks closed out the period with a 6-0 run to get within one with 10 minutes left to play.

It took a minute and a half in the fourth quarter for either team to score, starting with a pair of free throws from Morgan Kennedy to help the Mavericks regain the lead at 49-48 and forcing a Behrend timeout.

Medaille went on a 12-4 run in the first 4:30 of the fourth. Reinwald helped the Mavericks extend their lead from five to 14 points. She shot 4-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe for 12 of the 30 points scored.

Emily Kinecki (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst Prep) finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Behrend returns to action on Saturday against Pitt-Bradford. Game time is 3 p.m.