Women’s Basketball Earn First Conference Win over Penn State York

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

MONT ALTO, Pa. – In a Blue and White Appreciation Night, the Penn State Mont Alto women's basketball team earned a convincing 70-58 home victory over PSU York on Friday night. Mont Alto played great defense all evening long as it held York to 28.6 percent shooting from the field and 25.0 percent from downtown.

Inside the Box Score

• Kara Newell (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and led all scorers with a career-high 17 points. Fellow freshman Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) recorded her second double-double of the season finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Senior Karley Coleman (Hanover, Pa. / Delone Catholic) chipped in 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Meagan Smith (Littlestown, Pa. / Littlestown) had a productive 18 minutes, finishing 4-of-5 from the field for eight points.
• Mont Alto used its grit on the boards and finished with 10 more rebounds than the visitors (49-39) and scored 18 more points within the paint.
• The game featured one tie and four different lead changes with Mont Alto pulling away in the second half.

How it Happened

• The game was back-and-forth for much of the first quarter with Mont Alto establishing itself with sound defense and the inside presence of Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) who finished the quarter with six points.
• Martin and Newell formed the inside-outside connection on several different occasions as the duo combined for 17 points within the first half. Newell drained both of her 3-pointers within the half as PSUMA were 3-for-7 from downtown and forced six turnovers. Mont Alto took an 32-26 lead into the break.
• PSUMA secured its first double-digit lead of the game after a Newell layup with 7:05 left in the third quarter (38-28).
• Penn State York never mounted a comeback attempt as Mont Alto's defense wore out the visitors and offensively PSUMA was able to bleed out the clock on several possessions down the stretch.

Penn State Mont Alto (4-10, 1-7 PSUAC) embarks on a three-game road trip beginning at PSU Beaver on Wednesday, January 23. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.