Victory At Valley Forge Pushes Brandywine's Win Streak To Eight

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. -- Sparked by a 16-4 run to begin the fourth quarter, Penn State Brandywine, which led by one point through 30 minutes, produced its eighth-straight victory on Thursday night, topping the University of Valley Forge 77-64.

Brandywine trailed 12-9 through eight minutes, but Madison D'Ambrosio's (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) bucket jumpstarted a 12-0 run to end the first quarter. Kendra Stanford (Philadelphia, Pa./William Bodine) netted the final six points of the stanza with four free throws and a layup with six seconds remaining following a steal by Ali Wilson (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert's) to give the Lions a 21-12 edge.

The Patriots climbed within two when Jhanel Brown tipped in a rebound at the 3:34 mark of the second quarter, but Brandywine again closed the period  with a surge, scoring seven of the final nine points to grab a 35-28 advantage at the break.

Brandi James' (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) layup gave the Lions a 39-30 lead early in the second half. Valley Forge steadily chipped away, getting to within two points after a free throw from Brown before a triple by Kaitlyn Hess pushed the Patriots in front for the first time since early in the first half. Miller's basket with 1:46 to go in the third quarter sent Brandywine back into the lead and, after Natalie Cortes made 1-of-2 free throws for Valley Forge, Miller sank a layup just before the buzzer sounded to lift the Lions to a one-point edge at 52-51.

Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) sparked Brandywine's fourth quarter run by burying a three-pointer during the Lions' opening possession of the stanza. Chrissy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) followed with a pair of buckets and Stanford added a lay in that extended the lead to double figures with 4:51 to play. The Patriots trimmed the deficit as low as six points with 2:30 remaining, but Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) countered with a three-pointer and tacked on two free throws with 72 seconds to go to put the game out of reach.

Stanford topped the team in scoring with 16 points and just missed a double-double after securing nine rebounds. Abbonizio added 13 points and six boards, while James and Miller both collected 12 points.

Brandywine shot nearly 40 percent from the field and was 16-of-22 at the free throw stripe, while forcing 21 Valley Forge turnovers. Both teams grabbed 39 rebounds.

Brandywine (14-5, 8-0 PSUAC) makes a trip to western Pennsylvania on Friday for a matchup with Penn State Fayette at 6:00 pm.