WBB wins, leads West by one game
The Penn State Fayette women's basketball team won for the 10th time in 11 games Saturday with a 62-49 win over Penn State Mont Alto on Senior Day.
"This is a big win today, and I am very happy that we held them to 49 points," said head coach Scott Hillen. "Mont Alto is a tough, scrappy team and we had to play well. Taylor (McCormick) and Morgan (Rigsby) both played great games, and we know that when it is crunch time, we need everyone to do their part."
Fayette led most of the way – Mont Alto's biggest lead was one point – and the win keeps Fayette in first place in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference's (PSUAC) West division.
Taylor McCormick (Laurel, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt HS) led Fayette with a game-high 27 points while Morgan Rigsby (West Portsmith, OH/West Portsmith HS) recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ally Boykin (Canton, OH/Canton McKinley HS) also hit the boards hard for Fayette and grabbed 12 rebounds. Alexia Hackett led Mont Alto (11-11, 8-9) with 13 points.
Fayette shot 35.7 percent (20-56) while Mont Alto shot 28.6 percent (16-56). Neither team shot well from deep as Fayette only made one of its eight three-point attempts (12.5 percent) while Mont Alto made three of its 15 attempts (20.0 percent). Fayette made 21 of 30 free throw attempts (70.0 percent) while Mont Alto hit 14 of 18 attempts (77.8 percent).
Mont Alto turned the ball over 24 times while Fayette gave it away 21 times. On the boards, Fayette held a 41-37 advantage, it led in second chance points (13-7) and points in the paint (30-12) while Mont Alto held a 17-14 advantage in bench scoring.
Hillen spoke about how the players are doing what they need to do for the team to be successful.
"We know not everyone is going to be a scorer, but every rebound, steal, assist and screen we set is important," Hillen said. "The team has bought into the team mentality and know we are in this together. Not one person does it alone and we need everyone."
Fayette honored two seniors, Jtaya Pirl (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville HS) and Carissa Cyphert (Scottdale, PA/Southmoreland HS), during the Senior Day festivities.
Fayette is at Penn State Shenango (9-10, 9-9), the third-place team in the PSUAC West division, Monday with a 6 p.m. tipoff before closing the season at Penn State Beaver (15-7, 12-5), the second-place team in the PSUAC West division, Thursday at 6 p.m. Beaver has won 10 of its last 11 games, with the lone loss being at Fayette on January 22, 76-61.
For more information on the women's basketball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/wbkb/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics