Lions Best Scranton For Senior Day Victory

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- Penn State Brandywine held off Penn State Scranton and ended a two-game losing skid with a 74-63 PSUAC victory during women's basketball Senior Day on Sunday afternoon.

After a back-and-forth opening eight minutes, Brandywine took control with a 14-3 run. Cashae Hinton (Norristwon, Pa./Norristown) scored the first seven points of the surge, which was capped off by a Lauren Munro (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) free throw at the 6:52 mark.

Melanie Kempf's (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) basket pushed the lead to 13 and, after Katie Hart recorded a three-point play for Scranton, Stacey MacArthur (Newtown Square, Pa./Delco Christian) answered with a triple for Brandywine, giving the Lions a 34-21 edge after 20 minutes.

Scranton hung tough throughout the second half behind the offensive touch of Katie Yale and Hart. The duo scored 15 of Scranton's first 21 points as it pulled within seven. Danielle Segilia then buried a three-pointer to make the score 50-46.

However, Brandywine answered as Jessy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) connected on a jumper and then pushed the lead to double figures with another bucket at the 6:35 mark.

Myeisha Matos (Philadelphia, Pa./JW Hallahan Catholic) sank a pair of free throws and Olivia Encarnacion (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) followed with a pair of baskets as the Brandywine lead swelled to 17 late in the half.

Hinton turned in an all-around performance with team-bests of 15 points, seven assists and eight steals, along with seven rebounds. Encarnacion added 12 points, while MacArthur netted 10 and Matos pulled down eight boards. Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Yale produced 21 points and 16 rebounds for Scranton, while Kayla Cavanaugh added 19 points. Scranton shot 31 percent from the field and struggled from the free throw stripe as well, connecting on just 19-of-33 chances.

Brandywine scored 22 points off 27 Scranton turnovers and received 38 points from its reserves.

Brandywine (16-7, 11-2 PSUAC) can clinch the No. 1 seed in the PSUAC Tournament with a victory at Penn State Schuylkill on Tuesday at 6:00 pm.