Brandywine Rides Big Second Quarter To Victory; James Sets Rebound Record

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine outscored Penn State Fayette 28-8 during the second quarter and Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) pulled down a program record 20 rebounds, helping the Lions pick up a 79-70 Penn State University Athletic Conference women's basketball victory on Friday night.

Brandywine trailed 16-12 through one quarter, but exploded for the first 17 points of the second stanza. The Lions held Fayette scoreless over the first 6:35 en route to building a 29-16 lead.

James knotted the score at 16-16 before Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) buried a three-pointer to give the Lions the lead. Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) converted a rare, four-point play by hitting a triple and sinking a free throw after she was fouled, while Madison D'Ambrosio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) capped the run with a jumper.

The Brandywine edge swelled to 17 points on Velez' bucket with 33 seconds to play, but Lindsey Huhn answered with a layup to make the score 39-24 at the break.

Abbonizio opened the second half with her second three-pointer of the night and Chelsea Dent (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) added a layup two minutes later to give the Lions their largest lead of the night. Fayette closed the gap to just eight points with a 10-0 run spanning 2:15 and would get to within the same margin twice more during the quarter, but Kendra Stanford (Philadelphia, Pa./William Bodine) and Abbonizio closed the stanza with layups, making the score 55-43.

Velez connected on a triple and followed with a jumper as the Lions' lead ballooned to 16 points early in the fourth quarter; however, Fayette quickly cut the deficit in half, pulling within eight on Haley Moreland's lay in at the 5:15 mark. The Brandywine lead was as small as six during the final two minutes, but the Lions sank 5-of-6 free throws to hold on.

Ten of James' 20 rebounds came on the offensive end, helping Brandywine record 21 second-chance points. James also poured in 15 points, while D'Ambrosio added 10. Velez and Abbonizio both knocked down a trio of three-pointers as Velez collected 22 points and Abbonizio tallied 15, while Dent registered 11 points and six rebounds.

Taylor Smith led Fayette with a 28-point, 16-rebound double-double.

Brandywine (15-5, 8-1 PSUAC) plays four of its final five games on the road beginning Tuesday at Penn State Mont Alto (6:00 pm).