Brandywine Rolls To Senior Day Triumph

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine women's basketball team eased to a 79-39 Senior Day victory over Penn State Scranton and secured a top-two seed in the PSUAC Tournament in the process Saturday afternoon.

Brandywine is now assured of a home quarterfinal game via its top-two seed. The Lions can clinch the No. 1 spot and two home games in the tournament with victories during their final two games.

Seniors Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) and Madison D'Ambrosio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) led the rout as Velez poured in 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and collected four steals, while D'Ambrosio produced a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Amanda Floyd (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) also tallied a double-double, coupling 10 points with 10 rebounds and Dairayonna Stewart-Harold (New Castle, Del./William Penn) chipped in nine points, four steals, four rebounds and three assists.

Brandywine held a commanding 56-41 edge on the boards and shot nearly 40 percent from the field, while knocking down 8-of-16 three-point attempts.

The Lions were limited to four points during the first six minutes of the game, but exploded for 17 over the final 3:59 to build a 13-point edge after one quarter. Velez got the offense started with a triple and added two free throws, while Stewart-Harold converted a three-point play and a layup before D'Ambrosio beat the buzzer with a basket to make the count 21-8.

Brandywine continued to stretch its lead, using two-straight threes from D'Ambrosio and Velez to move the margin to 39-17. Velez scored five points during the final three minutes of the second quarter and D'Ambrosio added a free throw with one second remaining to make the score 45-17 at the half.

The Lions did not relent during the second half as Floyd capped a 17-4 surge with a jumper, giving Brandywine a 62-26 advantage with 4:06 to go in the third. Velez handed Brandywine its largest lead of the afternoon with a layup midway through the final stanza, upping the lead to 75-33, and Brandywine would cruise to the finish.

Brandywine saw 10 players get in the scoring column and 11 pulled in at least one rebound. The Lions tallied 18 steals and shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line.

Brandywine (16-7, 12-4 PSUAC) plays its final regular-season home game Tuesday against Penn State York at 6:00 pm.