Penn State Scranton Lady Lions Comeback to Defeat Mont Alto

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On Wednesday evening, the Penn State Scranton Lady Lions won their second game of the hoops season, this time a thrilling comeback, 68-59, home triumph over conference foe Penn State Mont Alto. With the impressive win, Scranton snaps their mini two game losing streak and sees their overall record improve to 2-10 and 2-7 in the all-important league play, as their other victory came back on December 11^th over rival Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Meanwhile, Mont Alto dropped their fourth straight contest and now see their overall record fall to 4-9 and 2-8 in conference play.

Scranton kept the ball game very close early on, as they only trailed by three points, 13-10, at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Mont Alto pulled away a bit outscoring their opponent 17-12 and took a solid eight point advantage, 30-22, into the halftime break. However, in the second half, Scranton would come roaring back, as they outscored Mont Alto 20-12 to even up the game at 42-42 heading into the fourth and final quarter. In the fourth quarter, Scranton seized control and never looked back, as they dominated, 26-17, over Mont Alto to clinch their impressive nine point triumph.

Scranton was led by a trio of seniors who put up terrific performances on the night, as Rachel Lewis, Courtney Varcoe, and Danielle Powell set the pace. Lewis scored a game-high 24 points, including a lethal 13-14 from the free throw charity stripe, as well as tallying two steals, two assists, and two rebounds, as she played the entire 40 minutes of game action. Varcoe notched a double-double, as she scored 12 points and had a game-high 14 boards in her 31 minutes on the floor. Last but certainly not least, Powell barely missed a double-double of her own, as she scored nine points, picked up nine rebounds, and had four assists in 36 minutes of play.

Mont Alto had two double digit scorers in the contest, both coming off the bench and providing a crucial spark, as freshmen Brianna Muldrow and Alexia Hackett scored 32 of their squad's 59 points. Muldrow scored a team-high 17 points on a solid 8-13 shooting from the field, as well as contributing five rebounds, and three assists in only 15 minutes on the court. Finally, Hackett put up 15 points, five boards, three steals, and an assist in her impressive 29 minutes of hard work.

Now head coach Tom McIntyre and his Penn State Scranton Lady Lions will look to win their second straight game when they host conference rival Penn State Lehigh Valley this upcoming Saturday, January 22^nd, with a 1pm matinee tip-off. Meanwhile, head coach Mary Miller and her Penn State Mont Alto squad will look to snap their four game losing streak this Saturday afternoon, as they host conference foe Penn State Shenango at 2pm.