WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Despite a late-game push, Penn State Harrisburg's women's basketball team's recent win streak came to an end with a 67-54 road loss to United East foe Penn College on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 17.
Lauren Moffatt led the way, nearly recording a double-double with a team-high 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Mikayla Coleman was the only other player to reach double figures with 17, while Akira Cho came close with nine points and six boards.
After the teams traded buckets to begin the game, Penn College (13-5, 5-1 United East) put together a 10-0 run midway through the opening quarter before taking a 21-13 advantage into the second. Cho connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the second frame, cutting the deficit to 26-19 at the 6:47 mark. From there, the Wildcats used a 6-0 run to push their lead back to double digits and eventually held a 37-26 edge heading into halftime.
Penn College scored the first six points of the third quarter before a Coleman 3-pointer momentarily halted the home team's momentum. The Wildcats kept the pressure on and eventually stretched their advantage to as many as 18 before Moffatt converted a buzzer-beating layup to end the third and trim the deficit to 55-39.
Trailing 57-39 with 8:25 left to play, the Lions (5-13, 4-3 United East) put together a last push that began with a Moffatt layup and included another from Allison Metzgar and a Kennadi Johnson triple with 6:57 remaining. Moffatt added two free throws, Coleman converted a layup and Azaria Bryant Franklin knocked down a foul shot to cut the deficit to eight with 3:29 to play. The comeback effort came too late, however, as Penn College ended the run with a driving layup with 2:34 remaining and held off the visitors last gasp down the stretch.
NOTABLES
- Penn College shot 41 percent from the field and 84.2 percent from the foul line to make things tough on the Lions.
- Penn State Harrisburg held the Wildcats to 1-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc.
- The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 38-32 and scored 20 points off Penn State Harrisburg miscues.
- Moffatt had another monster game, finishing with team-highs of 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
- Coleman netted 17 points.
- Cho added nine points and six rebounds.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions will look to bounce back when they host United East foe Valley Forge on Wednesday night.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.
