McKeesport, Pa. - With three of their starting five recording double-doubles, the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team steamroll over Pitt-Titusville, Saturday afternoon, 77-54.
To open the game, Greater Allegheny went on an 8-0 run over the course of the first three minutes. Junior power forward Christina Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./Saints Neumann-Goretti) assisted her team as she dropped six of those initial eight. Junior guard Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport Area) was the next to answer for GA, as she dropped a jumper. Senior point guard Taylor Fulton (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) answered with seven points over to two minutes to influx the GA tally, 21-11. Next, freshman power forward Aaquila Youngblood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) netted five consecutive points to continue the first half roll. Both junior guard Nakayla Layne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) and freshman guard Tra-Esha Carswell (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) made their presence known as they were able to manage seven together toward the home mark. Titusville was able battle their way back, as they found themselves within one with just a minute to play before halftime. Floyd banked a huge three-pointer to send the teams to the locker room, boosting the score to 38-34.
The Greater Allegheny defense allowed just one Titusville point in the first eight minutes of second half play, while GA flexed their muscles and dropped 22 on their opponent. Floyd, Fulton and Youngblood comprised of the 22 points bucketed. Layne and Bendick achieved positive marks toward Greater Allegheny, as the squad continued to boost their lead. Ending free-throws completed by Floyd was the capper on the scoring drive for Greater Allegheny with just under two minutes to play. Titusville closed the game with a lay-up, ending regulation with GA on the upside, 77-54.
As a team, Greater Allegheny did not allow Pitt-Titusville to take the lead one time. GA's largest lead of the game was 26, as the final four minutes of play began to wind down.
Big-timer Fulton dropped 22 points as she completed 53% (9-for-17) of her shots taken from the floor and dropped both of her free-throws attempted. Alongside dumping her own buckets, Fulton dished out twelve assists as well as grabbing six rebounds and four steals. Floyd finished the game with 61.5% (8-of-13) of her shots completed from the floor along with both of her attempted free-throws tallied. Floyd helped her team as the power forward grabbed eleven rebounds and gave out three assists. Youngblood went 57.1% (8-for-14) from the floor as she dropped 19 points and boarded 18 rebounds, ten of those rebounds being on the GA offensive drive. Layne lent a hand as she netted eleven points and got up for five rebounds.
PSUGA dominated the floor, as they out-rebounded Titusville, 59-39, contributing to the takeover. The squad forced 16 Titusville turnovers as GA benefitted 26 points off of the push. Greater Allegheny took 46 points in the paint, holding Titusville to just six. As a whole, Greater Allegheny dropped 45.8% (33-of-78) of their shots taken from the floor.
Greater Allegheny looks to keep the win streak alive, as they travel with the men on Wednesday night to Penn State Fayette. The Penn State University Athletic Conference match-up is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. There is live-streaming of the statistics available on the web. Click here to stay-tuned!
