MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's women's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the United East Championship Tournament with a 73-40 victory over conference foe Penn State Brandywine at the Capital Union Building on Wednesday night, Feb. 18.


Lauren Moffatt led the way with a monster double-double, pouring in a career-high 30 points on 72.7 percent shooting from the field and grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. Nicole Hernandez tallied 13 points, Akira Cho hit four 3-pointers and Brookelynn Carr dished out a game-high eight assists.


The hometown Lions (9-17) raced out to a 14-3 lead to begin the contest, held off a small push from Penn State Brandywine (6-20) late in the first quarter and padded the advantage when Cho and Hernandez knocked down back-to-back 3-balls to push the lead to 23-11 heading into the second period.


The visitors connected on a jumper to cut the deficit to 10 to begin the second but Penn State Harrisburg responded with a 7-0 spurt bookended by four Moffatt points that stretched the advantage to 30-13 with 3:38 left in the first half. The home team created more breathing room thanks to another Cho trifecta and a layup from Carr just before the break.


Penn State Harrisburg led by as many as 26 four times in the third quarter following triples from Moffatt and Cho, as well as a layup from Molli Hogbin and two free throws from Moffatt to close out the frame. The home team kept its cushion throughout the fourth quarter and took its largest lead of the night at 35 points when Hernandez converted a pair from the charity stripe in the final minute.


NOTABLES
- The home team shot well in all facets, including 47.9 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from beyond the arc and 82.6 percent from the foul line.
- Penn State Harrisburg won the rebounding battle 44-29, scored 18 second chance points and netted 22 points off turnovers.
- Moffatt turned in the best performance of her career, scoring 30 points on 72.7 percent shooting from the field while going 13-of-13 from the foul line. She also grabbed 16 rebounds to record her team-leading eighth double-double of the season.
- Hernandez scored 13 points and blocked two shots.
- Cho buried four 3-pointers en route to scoring a dozen points.
- Hogbin posted five points and six rebounds off the bench.
- Carr dished out a game-high eight assists and grabbed five boards to go along with five points.
- Mikayla Coleman added 10 points.


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to St. Mary's (Md.) to take on the top-seeded Seahawks in the quarterfinal round of the United East Tournament on Saturday afternoon.


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