James Nets 1,000th Point In 85-76 Victory

MEDIA, Pa. -- Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) became the 10th 1,000-point scorer in Penn State Brandywine women's basketball history as the Lions edged Penn State Fayette 85-76 on Friday night.

James' layup midway through the fourth quarter accounted for her 15th and 16th points of the night, putting her at exactly 1,000 points. She finished with 19 points and a game-best 13 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season, in 33 minutes of action. James also added four assists and three steals.

Four players accounted for 82 points for the Brandywine offense, which has scored 80-plus points in three-straight games for the first time since 2016. In addition to James, Madison D'Ambrosio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) poured in a career-best 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, while Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) scored 23 points, collected six steals and grabbed four rebounds and Madison Michael (Brookhaven, Pa./Sun Valley) tallied 15 points.

Brandywine shot 57 percent from three-point territory (12-21) and limited the visitors to 3-of-14 shooting from long distance.

The Lions trailed early on, but tied the game on D'Ambrosio's second triple of the first quarter and then took their first lead on James' free throw at the 5:54 mark. Velez knocked down two consecutive triples, upping the margin to 18-15, but Shelbie Brown's layup with two seconds remaining tied the score at 21-21 after one period.

Fayette netted the first two points of the second period; however, Brandywine answered with nine-straight points, jumpstarted by a D'Ambrosio triple to grab a 30-23 lead. After the visitors drew within six, D'Ambrosio and Velez canned three-pointers and James sank a layup, extending Brandywine's edge to 40-26 at the break.

The Lions' lead swelled to 16 points when Velez knocked down her fourth trifecta of the night, making the score 51-35, but Fayette chipped away, climbing within six after three quarters following a three-pointer by Dae-Lin Burnsworth.

Velez sank back-to-back layups midway through the final quarter to push the lead back to double figures, but Burnsworth kept Fayette in the game, scoring eight points in a three-minute span to trim the deficit to 78-72. However, Brandywine connected on seven free throws during the final 1:17, four from Velez, to ice the game.

Brandywine (12-6, 9-1 PSUAC) is right back in action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Penn State Beaver, the leader of the PSUAC West Division, at 1:00 pm.