Brandywine Cruises To 84-39 Triumph Over Scranton

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine won its third-straight Penn State University Athletic Conference women's basketball game, rolling past Penn State Scranton 84-39 on Wednesday night.

The Lions, who held a PSUAC opponent below 40 points for the fifth time in 10 games, upped their conference record to 8-1 (11-6 overall) after putting four players in double-figure scoring.

Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) topped all scorers with 18 points and collected three assists and two steals, while Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, coupling 16 points with seven rebounds. Making her first start, Madison Michael (Brookhaven, Pa./Sun Valley) added 13 points and six boards and Brandi Johnson (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) tallied 14 points.

Danielle Chattin (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Center) hauled in eight rebounds to pace the Lions. Brandywine, which saw 10 players pull in at least four boards, grabbed 25 offensive caroms and outrebounded Scranton by a 64-35 margin. 

Brandywine was also stout defensively, scoring 29 points off 22 Scranton turnovers, while holding the visitors to 22 percent shooting from the field.

Leading 11-9 midway through the first period, Brandywine used a 10-2 run to open up an 11-point edge through one quarter.

Brandywine continued to run away as Johnson and Velez knocked down back-to-back triples and James added a layup to extend the lead to 37-18 with 4:32 to go in the first half. The Lions held Scranton scoreless for the final 5:36, netting the last 14 points of the half to lead 43-18 at the break.

Velez knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the game, swelling the lead to 35 points early in the third. Amelia Brooks' (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) layup to close the stanza pushed the margin to 36 points and Brandywine outscored Scranton 18-9 over the final 10 minutes, leading by as many as 45 points.

Brandywine (11-6, 8-1 PSUAC) is back at home Friday against Penn State Fayette at 6:00 pm.