Penn State Behrend Snags Big AMCC Win Over La Roche Redhawks
The
Behrend Lions took on the La Roche Redhawks on Saturday, February 16 on the
Junker Center Court with AMCC seeding implications on the line. Behrend
snagged a 53-48 victory to move a game up on the Redhawks.
Both teams ran up and down the court trading buckets when Jenn Emberg's (Cowansville/Kittaning) lay-in plus a free-throw gave Behrend an 18-17 lead a the 5:33 mark.
La Roche's Jena Kaczur then responded with a three-point shot of her own to put the Redhawks up a pair. Emberg hit one of two at the charity-stripe with 17 seconds remaining to knot the game at 23 all entering the break.
Julia Andrus (Corry/Corry) who entered the contest with 922 career points and ranks eleventh on the all-time scoring list, had nine points on five-of-five from the line while Emberg added eight as Behrend shot 42% from the floor and out-rebounded La Roche 15-11 over the first half.
Behrend started the most important half of the season with a 5-0 run. Natalie Engel (McDonald/Fort Cherry) nailed a three-pointer at the 15:22 mark to maintain Behrend's lead. La Roche tied the game with 11:28 left, before another Penn State Behrend run opened up a nine-point advantage. La Roche could not get closer than three, as Behrend captured the crucial AMCC win to split the season series and move to 10-6 in the league and 12-11 overall, while La Roche falls to 14-9, and 9-7 in the AMCC. The win helped Behrend avenge a 51-47 loss in Pittsburgh in January.
Emberg was the high scorer for the blue and white with 13 points and five rebounds. Andrus added 11. La Roche was guided by Jaquaylla Kessler's 11 points. As a team La Roche shot 38% from the field and 58% from the line.
Only two conference games remain in the regular season leading up to the AMCC Tournament. Behrend will play on Wednesday, February 20, when they take on the Lake Erie Storm (15-8, 13-3). The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start.