The Scranton Lady Lions Fall in Conference Opener to Hazleton

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

After being pushed a day due to the early snowy inclement weather in Northeast Pennsylvania, the Penn State Scranton Lady Lions basketball squad dropped their Wednesday night home conference opener to rival Penn State Hazleton 85-20. With the defeat, Scranton sees their overall record fall to 0-4 and 0-1 in the all-important league play.

Hazleton seized control of the ball game early and never looked back, as they had a 27-6 lead over Scranton at the end of the first quarter, a 54-8 advantage at half-time, a 65-17 lead at the end of the third quarter, and lastly, after outscoring the Lions 20-3 in the fourth and final frame, Hazleton cruised to their dominant 65 point victory by the game's final whistle.

The Lions from Scranton were led on offense by the solid work from their senior low post presence Sam Collins, who just missed out on another double-double, with nine points and eight rebounds, to go along with three blocks, two assists, and a steal while playing the entire 40 minutes of the contest. A notable mention also goes to Alicia Gagner, as she provided a much needed spark to her ball club, with her four points and four boards, to go along with an assist.

Meanwhile for Hazleton, they had four of their players score in double figures on the day, as a trio of sophomores, Cassandra Rodriguez, Azaria Johnson, and Rocky Curry, to go along with junior Natasha Feliciano set the pace. Rodriguez had a double-double, as she scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while connecting on four out of her nine three point attempts in her stellar 33 minutes on the court. Johnson tallied 17 points while shooting a highly efficient 8-9 from the floor, to go along with her three steals and two boards. Curry picked up an awe-inspiring triple-double in the contest, as she had 14 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds, to go along with her four steals. Last but certainly not least, Feliciano scored 14 points on a red hot 7-9 shooting from the floor, to go along with her seven assists, six boards, and four steals.

Now head coach Tom McIntyre and his 0-4 Penn State Scranton Lady Lions basketball ball club will look to bounce back and capture their first win of the young season, when they host conference foe Penn State Beaver this upcoming Friday, November 18^th, with tip-off scheduled for 6pm. Meanwhile, head coach Jeff Onushco and his 2-3 Penn State Hazleton squad, who snapped a three game losing streak with their win over Scranton, will look to continue their winning ways when they host conference rival Penn State Du Bois this Friday evening at 6pm.