McKeesport, PA. – After clinching their first Penn State University Athletic Conference playoff berth since the 2013-2014 season last time out, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Women’s Basketball Team (11-7, 8-1) looks to stay hot when they take on Penn State DuBois (10-5, 6-3) Tuesday at 6 p.m. The women have won each of their last five games led by a high-powered offensive attack that has scored 72 or more points in each of those games.
PSUGA punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 79-48 win last time out over PSU-York. Their top three offensive players each scored in double digits and a strong defensive effort was enough to hold off York. PSUGA picked up the advantage early in the game going on a 6-0 run that made the score 15-7 halfway through the first quarter.
The women would never give up the lead after that heading into halftime leading 36-22 before finishing the day with a combined 43 points between the final two quarters to pick up their fifth straight victory. All-in-all, four different PSUGA players finished in double digits as the team picked up their 11th win of the season and their eighth in conference play.
Jayla Ellis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills HS) had a big game finishing with a team leading 21 points and six rebounds. Her other two partners in crime, Tina Clybourn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear HS) and Teaira Hartley (East Stroudsburg, PA./East Stroudsburg North HS), each finished with 19 points while Hartley added a team leading nine assists and 10 rebounds. Lexus Santiago (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) continued to lead the defense with 14 rebounds to go along with 13 points.
The win marks the fifth in a row for PSUGA as they march towards their first playoff spot since the 2013-2014 season on the road to the Bryce Jordan Center. Now, they are looking to try and capture one of the top two spots in the PSUAC West Division so they can be guaranteed a home game in the first round of the PSUAC playoffs on February 19th 2019.
Also fighting for one of those top two spots is PSUGA’s opponent PSU-DuBois. Currently sitting in third place in the division, DuBois sits two wins away from taking one of the two remaining spots in the West Division as they sit two games behind PSUGA. They come into Tuesday’s matchup coming off their second straight win 83-60 over PSU-York.
It was a strong defensive effort early in the game that powered DuBois to victory as they jumped out to a 21-8 lead after one and never looked back picking up the win. Maddie Sprankle led the way with 17 points while teammate Hope Bridge added 16 points in the victory.
In 16 previous matchups between these two teams, PSUGA has had the upper hand with a record of 10-6 against PSU-DuBois. Their last matchup came earlier this season when PSUGA fought back for a hard fought 74-69 win. Clybourn led the way in that game with 21 points, a season high performance at that time.
Tip-off for Tuesday’s doubleheader is scheduled for 6 p.m. as the first half of a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader. You can watch all the action live at bit.ly/PSUGAYT.
