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By Kevin Petrochko
For the Mirror
A 22-point performance coming out of halftime helped the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team to a 61-44 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win over Mount Aloysius Wednesday night at the Adler Arena.
After a rather evenly-matched first half, the Lions lit it up from the charity stripe, hitting on nine of 10 in the third quarter and 13 of 14 in the fourth.
PSU Altoona coach Halee Adams was pleased with her team's third-quarter display overall.
"I feel good about it," Adams said. "I think it's something we need to build on. We have had a couple rough games, and some adversity that we had to overcome, and I think they overcame it tonight."
PSU Altoona freshman forward Avana Sayles finished a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line. She finished with 24 points.
"That's the best she's done," Adams said. "She's really been focusing on focusing, and she's doing a great job."
Despite her troubles with free throws in practice, Sayles was very proud of her performance from the line.
"Feels pretty good," she said. "In practice, I struggled a bit with them, so it felt good to go out there and put them up."
Fellow freshman swingman Jaidyn McCracken finished with 10 points. She was 2-of-2 from the foul line. Teammate Jess Burns had 15 points.
"I love her," Sayles said of McCracken. "She's so fun to play with. Me and her, we work really well together."
Wednesday night was the first game that McCracken got the starting nod due to some illnesses within the team. Adams appreciated her contributions.
"This was her breakout game," Adams aid. "She really stepped up and we've asked a lot of her that she hasn't been asked of in the prior games, and she came to play tonight."
Mount Aloysius, down 27-22 at the break, had a tough night handling PSU Altoona's attack while trying to run its offense. Coach Brian Giesler credited the Lions' performance.
"Altoona did a great job attacking us," he said. "We didn't do a very good job attacking on offense. We just became stagnant, and it really hindered us offensively."
With a youthful roster, Giesler says every game is a learning experience.
"I think they all have to be," he said. "If you look at the roster, we're all young. We started talking about the things that we didn't do well last time, and every game is a learning experience."
Chloe Clemons led all Mount Aloysius scorers with 10 points.
"She's been great," Giesler said. "She's been an added piece that honestly in the last month has been kind of our go-to."
Penn State Altoona travels north to take on fellow AMCC foe Alfred State on Saturday, while Mount Aloysius takes on conference opponent Pitt-Bradford on Saturday as well.
MOUNT ALOYSIUS (2-18): Clemons 3-8 1-5 11, Halle Rittenhouse 0-1 0-0 0, Hanna Rittenhouse 0-3 0-0 0, Dugan 1-4 2-4 4, Mercier 3-14 1-2 10, Jenkins 3-9 4-5 10, Richards 3-10 0-0 9, Whalen 0-0 0-2 0. Totals -- 13-49 8-16 44
PENN STATE ALTOONA (9-10): McCracken 4-17 2-2 10, Munson 2-2 0-0 4, Sayles 7-22 10-10 24, Kitko 2-15 1-2 7, Burns 5-15 2-2 15, Figard 0-1 1-2 1, Barnett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals -- 20-71 16-18 61
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Mount Aloysius……….13 9 9 13 -- 44
PSU Altoona………….. 15 12 22 12 --61
3-point goals - Penn State Altoona 5-28 (McCracken 0-6; Sayles 0-1; Kitko 2-11; Burns 3-9) Mount Aloysius 7-26 (Clemons 1-5; Hanna Rittenhouse 0-3; Mercier 3-10; Richards 3-8).Assists - Penn State Altoona 12 (McCracken 7; Munson 1; Kitko 2; Burns 2 ); Mount Aloysius 8 (Clemons 1; Halle Rittenhouse 1; Hanna Rittenhouse 1; Dugan 1; Jenkins 3; Whalen 1). Rebounds - Penn State Altoona 53 (McCracken 13; Munson 3; Sayles 15; Kitko 8; Burns 2; Figard 1 ); Mount Aloysius 39 (Clemons 5; Halle Rittenhouse 1; Hanna Rittenhouse 6; Dugan 3; Mercier 1; Jenkins 11; Richards 4). Total Fouls - Penn State Altoona 16, Mount Aloysius 16. Technical Fouls - Mount Aloysius, Dugan, at 3:58; team at 3:28. Penn State Altoona -- None.