Women’s Basketball Tournament Run Ends In PSUAC Semifinals

MONACA, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine's women's basketball season came to an end on Saturday afternoon in the PSUAC Tournament semifinals as the fifth-seeded Lions were topped 84-65 by No. 1 Penn State Beaver.

The first three quarters were hotly contested with neither team leading by more than seven points, but Beaver exploded for 31 points during the final stanza, outscoring Brandywine by 20 to pull away and earn a spot in the PSUAC championship. Overall, the game featured 10 lead changes and seven ties.

The careers of four Brandywine seniors also came to an end on Saturday afternoon. Cashae Hinton (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) posted a team-best 12 points and seven assists, finishing her four-year, standout career as the program's sixth-leading scorer all-time with 1,176 points. Lauren Munro (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) added 11 points, five rebounds and five steals, upping her career point total to 1,262, the fourth-highest mark in school history.

Jessy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and Jilly Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) also played their final games in a Brandywine uniform. Jessy Gledhill tallied five points and five rebounds, while Jilly Gledhill recorded a pair of rebounds.

Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and Melanie Kempf (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) both poured in 10 points, while Chelsea Dent (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) added six points and nine rebounds.

Brandywine led 4-0 during the early minutes of the game, but Beaver quickly tied the score at 4-4. The teams traded baskets throughout the quarter until Morgan Kurtz drained a three-pointer with 36 seconds left and Beaver took a one-point lead after one quarter.

Jessy Gledhill and Munro combined for Brandywine's first seven points of the second quarter as the Lions used a 7-2 spurt to regain the lead. Beaver answered with a 9-2 run midway through the stanza to pull back in front by three and led by four with under 30 seconds remaining, but Hinton drained a jumper, cutting the deficit to two at the break.

Khalia Adams' pair of free throws pushed the Beaver lead to six early in the third quarter, but Brandywine responded with 13-straight points as Kempf, Munro, Abbonizio and Nicolette Napoleon (Springfield, Pa./Penn Charter) each knocked down two baskets during the surge.

Adams drained a triple to end the Lions' momentum and start a surge for Beaver, which retook the lead at 55-54 after three quarters.

Beaver pulled away during the fourth quarter, holding Brandywine to one basket during a span of 6:14, to clinch the victory.

Brandywine closed the year with a record of 18-9, advancing to the PSUAC semifinals for the 10^th-straight year.