McKeesport, PA. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Women’s Basketball team (0-0, 0-0) kicks off their 2018-2019 season on Friday when they take on Butler County Community College (0-0, 0-0) at 6 p.m. After finishing last season winning three out of their last four games, PSUGA is looking to ride the momentum from last year into 2018-2019 as they look to compete in the Penn State University Athletic Conference.
They return a group of seven upperclassmen who look to take on the leadership role this season as they help the young freshman core get into game shape. Senior Andrea Burroughs (New Rochelle, NY./New Rochelle HS) and junior Jayla Ellis (Pittsburgh, PA./Woodland Hills HS) lead this group of leaders, each coming off strong 2017-2018 campaigns.
Burroughs led the team with 197 rebounds despite some missed time due to injury. She finished the season as one of the top rebounders in the conference finishing fifth with 9.8 rebounds per game. Burroughs also played well on the offensive side of the ball with 99 points finishing fourth on the team.
Ellis was the leading scorer for PSUGA with 253 points and averaging 12 points per game throughout last season. Ellis was one of the main stays in the PSUGA starting lineup a season ago and will look to bring the offensive fire back in 2018-2019. Ellis was one of two players to average double digit points per game with Brandy Taylor (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) being the other averaging 10.4 ppg.
Joining the group are a core of newcomers trying to make an immediate impact on this season’s team. One of the top newcomers is Lackawanna transfer Tearia Hartley (East Stroudsburg, PA./East Stroudsburg North HS). Hartley scored 308 points in her two years with the Falcons while also averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. She helped lead them to the Region XIX/District N-O DAA Championship game a season ago and looks to bring that success to PSUGA.
Freshman Linquita Schley (Pittsburgh, PA./Brashear HS) is also coming from a successful Brashear Bulls program where she averaged 11 points per game and two assists per game throughout her high school career. Schley was also named the Brentwood Tournament MVP a season ago, and looks to provide PSUGA with another offensive weapon this season.
Third-year head coach Chrissy French is excited about the makeup of this season’s team and how their attitudes have changed coming into this season. With a PSUAC playoff spot on their minds, PSUGA is trusting the process as they look to continue to grow this season and hopefully compete for a playoff spot.
Butler County CC is coming off of a season that saw them go 5-19 and 3-4 in conference play. They have two of their top three scorers returning in 2018-2019 in McKenzie Craig (31.9 PPG) and Carly Burdett (15.6 PPG) and look to have some decent offensive weapons in their second seasons.
These two teams have battled twice before with Butler County CC picking up wins in both of those games. Last season, it came down to double overtime before Butler County CC snuck away with a 74-69 win. Ellis was the leading scorer in that game with 27 points while Taylor started her PSUGA career off with a bang with 24 points.
Friday will be PSUGA’s home opener with tip-off for the women’s game at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m. Doors to the Wunderly Gym open at 5 p.m. and you can watch a live stream of all the action at bit.ly/PSUGAYT.
