McKeesport, Pa. – Coming off of their best all-around game of the season, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Women’s Basketball Team (0-9, 0-3) will face their toughest test of the season to this point when they do battle with Division II Clarion (4-4, 1-3) on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The women saw an all-around good performance against Penn State Hazleton on Saturday and are looking to continue that in this contest.
Against Halzeton, PSUGA was able to keep the game close throughout with Hazleton not getting the upper hand officially until the final quarter of play. The teams went into the locker room with PSUGA down by just seven points and a chance to overtake Hazleton. However, Hazleton would score 21 points in both the third and fourth quarter of play to seal the deal.
PSUGA saw three players end in double digit for the first time this season. Jayla Ellis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) continued her domination on the court scoring in double digits for the ninth straight game with 12 points and Kiya Blair (Carrick, Pa./Carlynton) finished right behind her with 10 points as she continues to find her groove now being in double digits in back-to-back games. Brandy Taylor (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) finished with a team leading 13 points and once again led the team in assists with four.
PSUGA also saw junior Andrea Burroughs (New Rochelle, Ny./New Rochelle) return to form leading the team with 13 rebounds and collecting five points of her own while Ellis picked up her first double-double of the season compiling 10 rebounds to go along with her 12 point effort. In total, PSUGA picked up 47 rebounds as a team with everyone involved in the game being able to pick up at least one.
Even though the 73-53 final score did not reflect how PSUGA wanted this game to go, they still have many positives to look at going forward. They played their best all-around game of the season and they should be expecting some of their injured players to return to the lineup soon. Alex Hall (Washington, D.C./Bell HS) has missed the last couple games and is possibly set to make a return this week while Lexus Santiago (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) is set to make her PSUGA debut shortly thereafter.
Clarion comes into this game off of a 65-59 win over Shippensburg University on December 3rd. It was a game that saw Senior Amesha Harden-Pullium put up 23 points and help lead her team to victory. Clarion enters play sitting in last place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West standings at 4-4 overall and just 1-3 in conference play.
PSUGA met up with Clarion last season for the first time in their history and it was a game that was dominated by Clarion. The Golden Eagles walked out with a 117-42 victory with former Lion Ronnie Upsher providing the only real bright spot with her 12-point performance. It will be a tough test for the PSUGA Women, but they are looking to step up and avenge last year’s big loss.
It will be a rare morning game for the PSUGA Women as tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Tiffin Gymnasium on the Clarion University Campus. Wednesday’s matchup is the second to last game for PSUGA before they get a chance to rest as they go on the winter break.
