McKeesport, Pa. - Following junior power forward Christina Floyd's (Philadelphia, Pa./Saints Neumann-Goretti) remarkable 24 points and 24 rebounds, the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team overwhelmed Penn State Brandywine in a PSUAC match-up, 84-63.
Brandywine (17-7, 12-4) rolled through town as a steep opponent for Greater Allegheny's women (14-9, 11-3). Four Greater Allegheny student-athletes answered on the board within the first four minutes of play. Brandywine went on to swing back to take a 9-8 lead over GA. Senior point guard Taylor Fulton (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) slashed a free throw before freshman power forward Aaquila Youngblood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) slammed a lay-up. Both Brandywine and Greater Allegheny answered the other's completed tally through the next few minutes of action.
Floyd went on a solid six point run for the blue and white to bring the score to a tie at 17. Through less than a minute, freshman power forward Tenisha Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy), junior guard Nakayla Layne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) and freshman guard Tra-Esha Carswell (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) peppered Brandywine with six points, swinging the lead back into Greater Allegheny's favor, 23-20.
Gibson notched a lay-up as she was fouled, earning herself a foul-shot completion. With the final five minutes before half-time winding down, Youngblood, Fulton and Youngblood all dashed lay-up's for GA, extending their lead to 34-27. Brandywine earned points before Layne dropped both of her free-throws at the line. The final minute of play consisted of five Floyd points, going into half-time Greater Allegheny winning 41-34.
Floyd was the first to answer in the new half before junior guard Shelby Bendick (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport) banked a jumper. Floyd and Layne added points as Bendick hammered down a dagger of a trey, stretching the Greater Allegheny lead 54-40. Youngblood managed three clutch lay-up's under the basket to keep the GA momentum going. Floyd was up next to keep GA swelling, as the 5'11 power forward earned five points with just eleven minutes to play. The Greater Allegheny team was hot, as the floor heard contributions from Fulton, Gibson, Carswell and Bendick, GA leading 73-52. Brandywine continued to add points before Layne put up two lay-up's. The final two minutes of play saw lay-up's supplied from Youngblood and Gibson alongside points from the charity stripe from Gibson and Layne. At the regulation, Greater Allegheny found themselves on the upside of a huge Penn State University Athletic Conference victory, 84-63.
As mentioned above, Floyd dropped 24 points and grabbed 24 boards on Brandywine, as she completed 64.7% (11-of-17) of her shots attempted from the floor. Veteran Fulton was a force on the floor, as she dished out an outstanding 19 assists, grabbed seven steals and four boards before she notched seven points. Youngblood was powerhouse in the paint, as the 6'1 freshman dumped 75% (9-of-12) of her shots taken from the floor, adding 18 points and eight rebounds. Layne assisted her team as she made 100% (4-of-4) from the free-throw line, tallying 12 points and seven rebounds. Gibson was a solid contributor as she lent ten points and nine rebounds.
As a team, Greater Allegheny completed 47.4% (37-of-78) of their shots taken from the floor alongside 60% (9-of-15) of their attempts from the free-throw line. GA out-rebounded Brandywine 64-31, which was a huge push to the victory line. Greater Allegheny converted 33 points off of 23 Brandywine turnovers. The team also managed to add 68 points in the paint alongside 23 points on second chance.
The team will host their last regular season opponent tomorrow, as Penn State Schyulkill comes to town for a Penn State University Athletic Conference match-up. The women are set to kick-off the double-header with the men at 12 p.m. in Wunderley Gymnasium.
