Lady Lions Fight, but Rallies Fall Short in Weekend Series

The Penn State Fayette Lady Lion basketball team traveled east last weekend, making stops in Penn State Hazleton Saturday and Penn State Lehigh Valley Sunday.  Ranked #2 in the nation, Penn State Hazleton was given everything they could handle, but used late runs to hold on for the 64-47 win.   The Lady Lions of Fayette jumped out to an early 6-4 lead.     Battling back and forth and trading baskets, Fayette trailed 25-23 with a little under four minutes remaining in the first half.  Hazleton closed out the half with an 8-0 run.

Fayette kept pace with Hazleton, trading baskets the first five minutes.  Late runs by Hazleton gave the PSUAC leaders the cushion they needed to finish the game.  Sophomore forwards Courtney Haines and Kaitlyn Miller paced the Lady Lions with 12 points a piece.  Sophomore guard Kelsey Laurine pulled down 9 rebounds, while Junior forward Shannon Flament grabbed 9.   Haines and Miller snagged 5 and 4, respectively.

Freshman guard Ally Rudolph and forward Jackie Halapy each contributed 8 points.  Freshman guard Haley Moreland added 4 points and 5 rebounds, while Kira Doaks pulled down 3 boards.

On Sunday, the Lady Lions headed to Penn State Lehigh Valley.  Again, Fayette jumped out to an early lead, but fell to Lehigh Valley 75-69.  

In the early stages of the game, Fayette looked as though they would take control of the game, jumping out to and early 11-3 lead on a layup by Laurine.  Three point baskets by Rudolph and Haines put Fayette on top 19-11, and a layup by Miller made the score 21-16 with a little less than thriteen minutes to play in the half.  

Knotted at 30, Lehigh Valley would take over and score the next 8 points.  Lehigh would finish the half with a 13-7 run, headed into the locker room with a 6 point lead.

The Lady Lions would score the first seven points of the half on a long three point basket and a jump shot by Haines, followed by two foul shots by Moreland.

The two teams would trade baskets until the 13:30, where Lehigh Valley took a 51-47 lead.  With 3:00 left, a Flament jump shot pulled Fayette to within 12, as they continued to fight.  The Lady Lions would finish the game with a 16-7 run.

Haines paced Fayette with 24 points and 5 rebounds, followed by Flament, who scored 10 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.  Halapy was just shy of a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds, while Laurine and Moreland scored 8 and 7, respectively.  

Penn State Fayette is back in action this Saturday, when they travel to Penn State Greater Allgheny.  Tip off is scheduled for 1:00 PM.