Week 15: Danielle Powell
DUNMORE, PA – Danielle Powell, junior guard for Penn State Scranton helped lift the Lady Lions to a 1-1 conference record this week with big nights on the court, earning this week’s campus player of the week honors. In the first game of the week Scranton hosted Penn State Schuylkill who beat the Lady Lions last semester. With a season split in mind Scranton hit the floor looking to avenge the loss earlier this season and they did not disappoint. In a tightly contested first half, both teams were firing on all cylinders going shot for shot, in a game that featured 11 lead changes and seven ties. At the half Schuylkill held a narrow 37-35 advantage over Scranton.
As the second half kicked off Scranton only needed 5:29 of the third quarter to take control of the game and never looked back taking the win, 76-66 over Schuylkill. Danielle Powell led the Lady Lions with a season-high 20 points, six rebounds and three assists. When asked what a game like that means to her in a season that her production has dipped Powell said “it definitely helped with my confidence in my shots and my confidence on the floor. I felt good shooting the ball and things just seemed to fall in place.”
In the second contest of the week Scranton traveled to Penn State York to make up ground in the east. Unlike the Schuylkill game, which was a relatively high scoring game, this contest was a barn burner from the start. Each team struggling to find their respective rhythm on the court early on with York taking a 22-16 lead into the locker room. The second half saw more action as both teams began to hit their stride in the third period. Despite Scranton outscoring York in the second half the home team prevailed 47-43 over the Lady Lions. Powell added an additional two points, two assists and 12 rebounds for Scranton. Danielle didn’t take many shots in the game but stated “I filled the role I felt my team needed the most. I didn’t want to take stupid shots, I just wanted to play my part and that night my role was hitting the boards. I was able to get in good position to box out and was able to draw fouls in the process.” She finished the week with 22 points, 18 rebounds and five assists for Scranton.