Cold Middle Quarters Doom Mont Alto in Road Loss to Penn State Lehigh Valley

By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto women's basketball team fought hard for all 40 minutes in a road matchup with Penn State Lehigh Valley on Tuesday but came up short falling, 83-57. Mont Alto came out of the halftime break ice cold from the field and only managed six points the entire third quarter as the loss drops them to 5-16 overall and 2-10 in the PSUAC. The win clinched PSU Lehigh Valley at least the No. 2 seed in the PSUAC Tournament later this month as they improved to 14-5 and 11-1 in conference action.

Inside the Box Score

• Three players finished in double-figures for Mont Alto with Charity Miller (Greencastle, Pa. / James Buchanan) leading the way with 21 points. Miller also finished with a double-double corralling 10 boards. Karley Coleman (Hanover, Pa. / Delone Catholic) had a nice game from the point tallying 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
• Sugely Torres (Los Angeles, Ca. / John Marshall) was the other Nittany Lion to finish in double-figures. Her 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting marked a career-high scoring output for the sophomore.
• Alexis Shaffer (Hagerstown, Md. / South Hagerstown) made her return to the lineup after sitting out the last three games with an injury. The senior forward was a point away from her 13^th double-double of the season finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds.
• Penn State Lehigh Valley's starting five did most of the damage on Tuesday evening combining for 77 of the team's 83 points. Andrea Watkins finished with a game-high 22 points and was 9-of-15 from the field.
• Mont Alto tried to rally in the fourth quarter firing away from downtown, but the team couldn't find the range shooting 22.2 percent (6-of-27) overall from distance.

How it Happened

• Mont Alto held the early lead of the game after Charity Miller (Greencastle, Pa. / James Buchanan) hit a transition three-pointer on PSUMA's second possession of the game. The 3-2 lead lasted a little less than a minute.
• An Alexis Shaffer (Hagerstown, Md. / South Hagerstown) jumper brought PSUMA within a point to end the first quarter.
• Mont Alto was outscored 48-19 over the course of the next 20 minutes of play. An especially cold shooting third quarter allowed PSU Lehigh Valley's lead to balloon to as much as 32.
• A key to the Penn State Lehigh Valley victory was its presence scoring the basketball in the paint. The home team held a 60-4 advantage in points in the paint.

Penn State Mont Alto will return home for its next game on Friday, February 9 against PSU York. The women's basketball program will be celebrating Senior Day prior to the 6 p.m. tip.