WBB sweeps pair, leads PSUAC West
After winning a Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) West division first-place showdown at Penn State Greater Allegheny Sunday, the Penn State Fayette women's basketball team holds a one-game lead over GA in the standings.
Fayette (10-5 overall, 8-3 PSUAC) took the matchup with Greater Allegheny (9-9, 7-4), 73-57, after defeating Penn State Beaver (7-7, 5-4) Saturday, 76-61. Fayette has won five straight games.
"I sound like a broken record, but we had a great team effort," said head coach Scott Hillen. "Our captains and leaders, Taylor McCormick and Jtaya Pirl, really have the girls buying into what we want to do. They are leading by example. As a team, we are really playing together and working as a unit on defense by being in the right positions, communicating and rotating."
Hillen continued by transitioning to offense.
"Offensively, we are coming together and leaning on each other," he said. "Players are stepping up when we need them to. I think we are learning the system now and are not overthinking as much as we had been doing. They are trusting each other and the game plan. We just beat two very good teams and are playing with confidence."
Fayette led Greater Allegheny after one quarter Sunday, 19-8, before the hosts used an 18-10 advantage in the second quarter to trim Fayette's halftime lead to 29-26. A 23-13 third quarter advantage gave Fayette the cushion it would need heading down the stretch.
Taylor McCormick (Laurel, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt HS) scored a game-high 19 points for Fayette while Ally Boykin (Canton, OH/Canton McKinley HS) added 14 points and Stephanie Taylor (Manassas, VA/Osborne HS) added a career-high 10 points.
Saturday against Beaver, Fayette shot 51.9 percent (27-52) while limiting Beaver to 39.3 percent (22-56). In a telling stat, Fayette only attempted a trio of three-pointers, making two (66.7 percent) but held a 44-24 scoring advantage in the paint over Beaver.
McCormick led Fayette with a game-high 26 points while Boykin added 18 points and Morgan Rigsby (West Portsmith, OH/West Portsmith HS) tallied 11.
Hillen spoke about the role players stepping up.
"McCormick and Boykins led us in scoring, but we had a lot of people step up in crunch time," he said of Saturday's win. "It was one of our best offensive games as six players scored at least five points. Every player is doing the little things that need done for us to have a successful season."
Despite being in first place, Hillen said the team needs to keep working hard and improving.
"We know there is a lot of season left and we need to stay focused and keep the right mindset," he said. "I am proud of the growth and the way we are playing as a team."
After Fayette steps out of conference to host Trinity Christian Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tipoff, it hosts Penn State Brandywine (7-12, 4-6) at 3 p.m. Saturday and hosts PSUAC East division leading Penn State Lehigh Valley (13-3, 10-0) Sunday at 1 p.m.
For more information on the women's basketball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/wbkb/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics.