Penn State Scranton Lady Lions Fall to Brandywine

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

In a Saturday afternoon matinee, the Penn State Scranton Lady Lions basketball squad battled back in the second half but in the end fell to conference foe Penn State Brandywine by 17 points, 82-65. This is Scranton's second loss this season to Brandywine, as they previously had a 67-47 setback in a road contest back on January 13^th. With this defeat, Scranton's overall record stands at 3-15 and in all-important league play they are 3-12 during this hoops campaign. A big positive coming from the game was Scranton participating in the tremendously worthwhile 3's for THON charitable endeavor, as money raised for Penn State's THON helps families who have children suffering from pediatric cancer.

The road warriors from Brandywine would jump out to big leads early in the ball game, as they were up 24-7 after the first quarter of play and held a dominant 29 point lead, 50-21, heading into the halftime break in the action. After Brandywine's lead swelled to as much as 36 points early in the second half, the Lady Lions from the electric city would come roaring back, as they outscored their opponent by 12 points, 44-32, during the final 20 minutes of play, showing tremendous resiliency and a never quit attitude.

Scranton was led on offense by two double digit scoring performances by senior Courtney Varcoe and junior Sam Collins. Varcoe notched a double-double on the day, as she had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds during her 35 minutes of solid play. Collins was stellar in her low post game, as she picked up 10 points on an efficient 4-8 shooting from the field, to go along with her three boards and two blocks. Two other notable games for the hometown squad were from senior birthday girl Rachel Lewis and fellow senior Danielle Powell. Lewis filled up the stat sheet, as she played the entire 40 minutes in the contest, as she scored eight points, had a team-high eight assists, five boards, and a steal to boot. Last but certainly not least, Powell just missed out on scoring in double figures on the day, as she had nine points, five rebounds, and connected on three of her eight attempts from beyond the arc. Overall, as part of Scranton's 3's for THON campaign, the Lady Lions were successful on five of their shots from three point range, as senior Alyssa Cuono and sophomore Gabrielle Judge each made a three pointer to go along with Powell's three shots made.

Meanwhile, Brandywine had three players score in double digits on the day, as junior Amanda Floyd, freshman Anaiyah Allen, and senior Hope Coacher led the way. Floyd scored a game-high 27 points on a solid 11-22 shooting from the field, to go along with her three rebounds, four assists, five steals, and hit on 3-7 shots from three point range in her 31 minutes of stellar work. Allen notched 19 points and three boards in her 25 minutes of action. Finally, Coacher was stalwart in the paint, as she picked up 10 points and six rebounds in the ball game.

Now head coach Tom McIntyre and his Penn State Scranton Lady Lions will look to snap their three game losing streak in their next game, as they host conference rival Penn State Hazleton this upcoming Thursday, February 10^th, with an 8pm tip-off. Earlier in the season, back on November 16^th, Scranton fell on the road to Hazleton by 14 points, 49-35. Meanwhile, longtime head coach Larry Johnson and his Penn State Brandywine squad, who recently snapped a five game losing streak by beating non-conference foe Cairn University, are now on a mini two game winning streak, with a 9-15 overall record and 5-9 in league play, as they will look to continue their winning ways when they host Penn State Hazleton this Thursday, February 10^th, at 8 pm.