Lemont Furance, Pa. - In an evenly-matched, back-and-forth Penn State University Athletic Conference battle, the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team (7-7, 4-2) edged over Penn State Fayette, 57-55, Wednesday night.
The first five minutes saw contributions on the floor from senior point guard Taylor Fulton (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin), junior power forward Christina Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./Saints Neumann-Goretti) and freshman forward Aaquila Youngblood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) to take the lead, 10-8. A lay-up dumped from junior guard Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport Area) opened a GA floodgate. Floyd answered with four points before junior guard Nakayla Layne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) slashed a free-throw.
Freshman forward Tenisha Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) managed a lay-up to bring the lead to eight. In four minutes of play, Fayette was able to hold the GA offense and mirror Greater Allegheny's eight to tie the score at 21. Layne and Youngblood answered each of Fayette's additions with jumpers as Gibson and Youngblood completed marks from the charity stripe to ride out the first twenty minutes of action.
Greater Allegheny was held to just seven points through the first ten minutes of the second half as Fayette made up their defecit. Free-throws added from Fulton and Youngblood kept the GA scoring drive consistent. Back-to-back jumpers posted from Fulton and Floyd propelled the away team over Fayette, 49-46. Fulton and Layne comprised of the next eight points before Bendick capped off the night's scoring drive, as the GA Lions found themselves ahead of Fayette 57-55.
As a team, PSUGA cashed 37.9% (25-of-66) of their shots taken from the floor alongside out-rebounding Fayette 51-44. Greater Allegheny forced 16 turnovers, converting them into 12 points. The GA offense bucketed 34 points in the paint as the bench went on to contribute 18 tallies.
Floyd drew her seventh double-double of the season, as she put up 12 points and 17 rebounds. Christina assisted her team as she went 66.7% (6-for-9) from the floor.
Youngblood grabbed 12 boards and added seven points to the GA score. Fulton helped out as she went 60% (3-for-5) from the free-throw line. She finished the game with 13 points, five boards and five assists. Layne collected 13 points and five rebounds to close regulation play.
The women look to keep their streak alive as they welcome Penn State York to Wunderley Gymnasium, Friday evening. Greater Allegheny women are set to tip-off at 6 p.m.
