BALTIMORE, Md. - Penn State Harrisburg's women's basketball team held off Notre Dame (Md.) 63-53 in a United East Conference matchup on Tuesday night, Jan. 13.


Mikayla Coleman led the way for the Lions with 21 points and added three assists, while Lauren Moffatt flirted with a double-double with a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with eight points. Allison Metzgar recorded 13 points and Akira Cho rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points of her own.


The opening quarter ended in favor of the Gators (6-7, 3-1 United East) with a slight 13-10 edge over Penn State Harrisburg (5-12, 4-2 United East). In the second quarter, however, it was the Lions who earned the upper hand. With Notre Dame (Md.) up by three with 7:09 remaining before halftime, Penn State Harrisburg's Coleman, Metzgar, and Cho fueled an 11-0 run with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers. Molli Hogbin added a layup on the back half of the surge to aid the visitors' effort. The Gators clawed back within three before Coleman converted a layup to give the Lions a little more cushion at the halfway point 28-23.


Coming out of halftime, the two squads traded multiple buckets before a 3-pointer the Gators' Marecia Barnett tied the game up 32-32 at 6:55 mark. After four scoreless minutes, it was Penn State Harrisburg once again who created the distance when Cho hit a fastbreak 3-ball before Metzgar scored a layup and a 3-pointer of her own. Although Madison Simmons sunk a pair of free throws for the home team with a minute to go, it was Coleman who ended the quarter with a shot beyond the arc for the Lions to take a nine-point lead.


In the final quarter, both Notre Dame (Md.) and Penn State Harrisburg post almost identical points, but the visitors saw their largest lead of the night at the 2:19 minute mark when Moffatt scored a layup to put the Lions up by 15. The Gators' Thalia Kayiranga had eight points in the frame to try to aid the home team's comeback effort, but the gap proved too much to overcome and the contest ended with 63-53 advantage for Penn State Harrisburg.


NOTABLES
- Coleman led the Lions with 21 points and added three assists.
- Moffatt nearly posted a double-double with eight points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
- Metzgar did a little bit of everything with 13 points, four boards, and three assists.
- Cho added 11 points and a trio of assists.
- Hogbin chipped in four rebounds, four points, and a team-high three blocks.
- The Gators outrebounded the Lions 45-36.
- Penn State Harrisburg shot 45.0 percent from beyond the arc, while the Gators shot just 19.0 percent from 3-point range.
- Kayiranga earned a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with a pair of blocks for Notre Dame (Md.)


WHO'S NEXT?
Penn State Harrisburg travels to Williamsport, Pa. on Saturday, Jan. 17 for another conference contest against Penn College at 3 p.m.


STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.