Hazleton Clips Brandywine In Pivotal PSUAC Matchup

HAZLETON, Pa. – In a battle of second-place teams in Penn State University Athletic Conference women's basketball, Penn State Hazleton earned a 75-61 victory over Penn State Brandywine on Friday night.

Hazleton maintained its hold on second place by upping its record to 10-1 in league play, while Brandywine slipped to fourth place, a half game behind Penn State Beaver. The Lions own the tiebreaker with Beaver by virtue of a 69-58 victory in January and have one conference game in hand.

Four of the six players to find the scoring column for Hazleton netted double figures, led by Ijonana Laster, who scored a game-high 18 points.

Chrissy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) was the top Brandywine scorer with 16 points as she connected on 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 4-of-7 three-point attempts. Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) added 15 points, four assists and four steals, while Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

Hazleton ran out to an 11-point lead after one quarter, but Brandywine trimmed the deficit to just six at the break thanks to a 10-2 surge over the final 3:17 of the first half.

Velez started the second half with a jumper and Gledhill followed with a triple to bring the Lions within one before James gave Brandywine its first lead with a layup at the 7:51 mark; however, Brandywine's lead was short-lived as Haley Nalls began a run of six-straight points 41 seconds later by sinking a layup.

Gledhill completed the third quarter with a three-pointer and Velez buried a trifecta 12 seconds into the final stanza to make the score 55-53, but that is as close as the Lions would get for the remainder of the game. Hazleton scored eight consecutive points in a span of 2:30 to build a double-figure lead and sank four free throws during the final minute to put the game away.

Brandywine (16-6, 9-2 PSUAC) has three regular-season games remaining beginning with a Saturday afternoon tilt at Penn State Schuylkill at 1:00 pm.