McKeesport, Pa. - Five Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball players notch double-digits to coast GA to their fifth consecutive PSUAC as they powerhouse over Penn College, 82-56.
Within the first four minutes of play at Wunderley Gymnasium, Penn State Greater Allegheny found themselves atop of Penn College 20-2, sending their coach into a heated time-out. If it was a steal, an assist or a bucket achieved on her own, senior point guard Taylor Fulton (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) had a hand in the first twenty points. Junior power forward Christina Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./Saints Neumann-Goretti) landed herself the first six points for GA, dished to her by Fulton. Freshman forward Aaquila Youngblood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) and Fulton comprised of the next six points netted. Junior guard Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport Area) laid on a jumper to continue the swell. Youngblood added another lay-up before Fulton contributed four.
Bendick dropped four consecutive to bring the GA tally to 24-4 just five minutes into the game. Greater Allegheny was then held scoreless for the next seven minutes as Penn College cut their deficit, 24-11. Youngblood made a lay-up just before junior guard Nakayla Layne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) completed two free-throws. Fulton cashed in for five as Penn College continued to score, GA still up 33-22 with three to go before halftime. Youngblood, Layne and freshman guard Tra-Esha Carswell (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) banked jumpers to close the first twenty minutes of PSUAC action, GA up 39-30.
Floyd and Layne teamed-up for nine points to open up the next half, 48-32. Greater Allegheny then tallied five more before Fulton dropped a hammer of a three-pointer, widening the gap between the two teams, 56-32. Layne netted four points as freshman forward Tenisha Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) got up for a lay-up. Carswell added a jumper before PC was able to net a few points. Bendick was next to add a lay-up before Floyd answered with two consecutive scoring drives. Carswell, Fulton and Layne kept the fight on, as consistent scoring brought Greater Allegheny to 77-50. Gibson hatched three points to lead Carswell to the final scoring opportuniity for GA. As the time wound down, GA was on top of the outcome, 82-56.
Fulton shot 37.5% (6-of-16) from the floor alongside banking 66.7% (6-of-9) free-throws. She dumped 19 points and dished out 18 assists. Fulton also achieved nine steals and six boards. Floyd dropped (6-of-11) from the floor along with 75% (3-of-4) of her free-throws. Floyd also marked 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Layne managed to go 5-for-12 (41.6%) from the floor and 75% (3-of-4) from the free-throw line. She added 13 points to the GA score and pulled down eight boards. Carswell was just behind her with 12 points as she completed 66.7% (6-of-9) of her shots taken from the floor. Bendick added five as Youngblood dumped 10 points and nine rebounds to help Greater Allegheny overtake Penn College. Gibson was a force under the basket as she rebounded eight boards and dropped five points.
As a team, Greater Allegheny shot 46.6% (34-of-73) from the floor and managed 68.4% (13-of-19) of their free-throws. The team converted 32 Penn College turnovers into 37 points. Along with out-rebounding PC (50-38), Greater Allegheny polished off 40 points in the paint.
A huge game is next on the horizon for the GA Lions, as Penn State Beaver comes to town on Monday. The Penn State University Athletic Conference double-header is set to begin with the women at 6 p.m.
