Brandywine Handles SUNY Canton In Return From Break

MEDIA, Pa. -- Following a three-week layoff, Penn State Brandywine showed no signs of rust as the Lions ran out to a 23-2 lead after one quarter and never looked back during a 68-46 victory over SUNY Canton on Thursday evening.

Aided by a pair of three-pointers from Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield), Brandywine scored the first 14 points of the opening quarter. After a Kangaroo basket at the 4:15 mark, the Lions netted the final nine points of the stanza with Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) making the lead 21 points with a pair of free throws with just over one minute to play.

The Lions continued to pull away during the second, opening up a 25-point lead on Brandi James' (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) layup at the 6:13 mark. Canton closed the deficit to 21, but the Lions scored the final seven points of the quarter, including an Abbinizio jumper that gave her 14 points and handed Brandywine a 40-12 edge at the break.

The Roos outscored Brandywine 34-28 during the final 20 minutes, but the Lions were never seriously threatened as the lead did not dip below 20.

Velez led all scorers with 16 points along with four rebounds and four steals, while Abbonizio added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Kendra Stanford (Philadelphia, Pa./William Bodine) produced her second double-double with 11 points and 11 boards for the Lions, who shot 40 percent from the field and forced 28 Roo turnovers. Madison D'Ambrosio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) pulled down seven rebounds, while James tallied six boards.

SUNY Canton was limited to 21 percent shooting, but held a 51-40 edge on the boards.

Brandywine (6-4) faces Cincinnati-Clermont on Friday at 4:00 pm.