McKeesport, Pa. - With hard-work and perseverance from the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team, the ladies went on to defeat the Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions, Tuesday night, by a margin of 64-57.
Freshman forward Justice Mitchell (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) accounted for the first four points of the game as freshman guard Ronnie Upsher (Pittsburgh, Pa./McKeesport) put up a jumper and one, ending the first quarter 18-7 Roaring Lions.
Freshman guard Jayla Ellis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) dropped a jumper to open the next quarter as sophomore forward Andrea Burroughs (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) added the next three points, 18-12 Fayette. Mitchell added a crucial jumper in the paint as Burroughs followed behind her. Junior guard Mandi Johnston (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and Mitchell all added points in the paint as the two teams went into halftime with Fayette in front, 31-22.
Johnston was the first to answer in the new half with a jumpev32r as Burroughs put down two from the foul line, 33-26 Fayette. Ellis added a free-throw before Johnston zipped up five points, 39-32 Fayette. Burroughs put up a layup as Upsher tacked on a foul shot, 43-35 start of the fourth quarter.
Johnston drained a three-pointer to bring the gap between six as Upsher marked a jumper in the paint, 46-42. Mitchell clobbered a clutch layup as Johnston denoted the tying basket with 6:24 remaining, 46 all.
Bucket for bucket the Lions battled as Burroughs added a layup. Mitchell took the lead for the Lions with four minutes remaining in regulation, 50-48. The back-and-forth battle continued as Upsher added two from the foul line, taking the lead back 52-50. Ellis, Mitchell and Johnston all continued to add points as they held the Roaring Lions to none, 58-50 home team with 1:32 on the clock.
A series of unfortuante events led to a one point game with less than a minute on the clock, 58-57 GA. Johnston and Upsher made some breathing room between the two teams with foul shots, ending the game in regulation 64-57.
Both Mitchell and Upsher both notched double-doubles in the contest, as Mitchell put up 16 points, ten rebounds and a steal while Upsher added 8-% (8-of-10) of her foul shots on 12 points, ten boards, six assists, five steals and two blocks. Johnston dropped 20 points with all seven of her shots dropping from the foul line with four rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. Burroughs continued with eleven points, nine rebounds, three steals and a block.
As a team, Greater Allegheny was out-rebounded 58-48 as the Lions managed 70.4% (19-of-27) of their shots from the foul line and 32.8% (22-of-67) of their shots from the floor. The Lions added 22 points off turnovers, 36 points in the paint and eight po ints off turnovers.
Greater Allegheny (5-10, 3-6 PSUAC) looks onward to a Penn State University AThletic Conference road trip, starting with Penn State Mont Alto. The women are set to tip-off at 6 p.m. on Friday evening.
