Big Fourth Quarter Carries Mont Alto Past Penn State Hazleton

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

HAZLETON, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto women's basketball team started off slow, but stormed back in the fourth quarter to win there second-straight with a 62-58 victory over PSU Hazleton. The Lions (6-11, 3-8 PSUAC) got a season-high 19 points from senior Karley Coleman (Hanover, Pa. / Delone Catholic) in the win over Hazleton (5-10, 3-6 PSUAC).

Inside the Box Score

• Coleman shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range while also grabbing seven rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
• Backcourt mate Juliane Noveras (Gaithersburg, Md. / Gaithersburg) chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
• Freshman forward Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) was solid in the post finishing with 15 points and five rebounds.
• Offensively, Mont Alto shot 38.1 percent from the floor. Defensively, the Lions forced Hazleton into 19 turnovers while also holding a 47-42 advantage on the boards.
• Hazleton saw McKenzie Prutsman score 25 points and Kendra Pfeil finish with 17. Prutsman wasn't that efficient from the field shooting 9-of-27 and 1-of-4 from downtown.

How it Happened

• Mont Alto sputtered a bit in the first quarter with Hazleton maintaining a lead throughout the entirety of the period. Hazleton brought a six point advantage into the second quarter (15-9).
• The Lions turned it on to begin the period and scored seven-straight that was capped off by a Noveras 3-pointer that gave them their first lead at 16-15.  After Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) converted on the front end of her free throws PSUMA led 19-15 with 7:06 remaining in the quarter. Both squads essentially traded baskets over the final minutes of the first half and they went into halftime tied at 27 points apiece.
• Hazleton had its best scoring period of the game during the third quarter as they shot 35.3%. They built a seven point lead going into the fourth quarter.
• Trailing 58-49 with 4:34 remaining, Mont Alto staged its comeback initially with a Martin layup and trailed by one point (58-57) after a Julianne Noveras jumper. Karley Coleman hit a 3-pointer out of a Hazleton timeout with two minutes remaining that put them up 60-58. Mont Alto's defense was stingy down the stretch and they held on for the 62-58 win.

Penn State Mont Alto will return home for a PSUAC game with Penn State Fayette on Tuesday, January 29. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.