Women’s Basketball Runs out of Steam as Comeback Falls Short

Women’s Basketball Runs out of Steam as Comeback Falls Short
Box Score
February 8, 2020

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

LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto women's basketball team had a fourth quarter comeback fall short on Saturday as they dropped a 69-59 contest to PSU Fayette. With the loss Mont Alto drops to 7-12 and 4-9 within the PSUAC.

Inside the Box Score

  • Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) led all scorers pouring in 20 points while adding eight rebounds. Grace Banfe (Greencastle, Pa. / Shalom Christian Academy) chipped in 10 points including 2-of-6 makes from downtown.
  • Fayette shot 28.8% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range. Kaityln Riley netted 23 points and Taylor McCormick finished with 20.

How it Happened

  • Back-to-back 3-point plays by PSU Fayette put the home team up 16-9 early within the first quarter. Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 16-11 with under four minutes.
  • Second chance points killed PSUMA but a Rucker trey was the final basket of the quarter as Fayette led 24-19. Fayette built a double-digit advantage and were up 37-21 after a Kaitlyn Riley 3-pointer with 4:55 remaining before halftime. PSUMA were held to just eight points within the second quarter as they went into the break trailing 40-27.
  • The Nittany Lions opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run that cut the lead to single digits after a Mariah Martin (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) layup. Kara Newell (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) splashed a 3-pointer to make it 46-36. Martin netted a 3-pointer that made it 51-44 with under 3 minutes left in the period.
  • Mont Alto opened the final quarter trailing by seven points (56-49). Grace Banfe (Greencastle, Pa. / Shalom Christian Academy) hit a 3-pointer to make it 60-54 as that basket was answered with a trey by PSU Fayette's Carissa Cyphert.
  • PSU Fayette did just enough down the stretch as PSUMA went cold from the field during the last three minutes of the game.

Penn State Mont Alto returns to action in a home contest against PSU New Kensington. PSUMA will look for the split of the season series on Tuesday with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.