Youngwood, Pa. - Close battle pushed regulation play to expire, sending the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team into extra minutes over Westmoreland County Community College Monday night.
Very close play through the first half made for exciting action on the road. WCCC led by a few points through the majority of the game until the last three minutes before halftime. Senior point guard Taylor Fulton (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) forced and recovered a steal, zooming to the basket for a lay-up. These two points sent WCCC into a heated timeout as GA tied the game at 28. Junior guard Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport Area) dished a ball outside the arc to Fulton, who got up and cashed in for three, as Greater Allegheny took the lead 31-29. Fulton, still feeling the momentum, forced a turnover and gained the steal, as she dished the ball to freshman power forward Aaquila Youngblood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy). Youngblood achieved the lay-up, taking the game to 33-29. WCCC added two lay-up's to send the game into halftime, tied at 33. Youngblood went 5-for-8 from the floor, tallying 11 points and two rebounds. Fulton dropped 12 points toward the GA score alongside five steals and two rebounds.
Junior power forward Christina Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./Saints Neumann-Goretti) bucketed a jumper along with Youngblood's two made free-throws as GA keeps with WCCC at 37 to open the second half. Fulton dropped five consecutive points to propel GA over the Wolves, 42-41. Very close competition paved the way to eleven lead changes within the next eight minutes. Back-and-forth play saw contributions from GA heavy-hitters Fulton, Youngblood and freshman point guard Shacobia Horn (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge), as they all contributed marks to the 59 point tie. A real nail-biter as the last eight minutes of play began to dwindle away. Freshman power forward Tenisha Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) and freshman guard Tra-Esha Carswell (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) made their presence known, as they checked-in for five points. WCCC led by four points with less than three minutes of regulation play. Carswell notched four to set the game to a 71-69 WCCC lead. Horn dropped a huge lay-up with just 16 seconds to play. WCCC was fired up, sending them into a desperate overtime. WCCC managed one more shot before the 71-71 tie game went into overtime.
WCCC held GA scoreless through two of the five minutes of extra play as they surged their lead up by nine. Fulton was the only Lion to achieve points toward the tally in extra minutes. The game closed as Westmoreland County Community College overcame Greater Allegheny, 86-75.
The lead between the two teams changed 26 times, making it dramatic finish. Greater Allegheny managed 35 points off of turnovers and 34 points in the paint. GA also completed 53.1% (17-32) of their free throws taken.
Greater Allegheny (2-5) is set for their first conference match Tuesday, as Penn State Fayette travels to Wunderley Gymnasium. Fayette is geared up for a double-header; women are set to tip-off at 6 p.m.
