Women's Basketball: Lions edge Bison

BETHANY, W.Va. – The Bethany College women's basketball team hosted Penn State Behrend in a non-conference tilt Tuesday afternoon inside Hummel Field House. The Lions used 22-15 fourth quarter to comeback and defeat the Bison, 72-68.  

GAME FLOW

• PSU-Behrend lifted the lid first but the Bison quickly knotted the game at 2-2 with a Sophie Morey jumper. The Lions took a 6-2 lead in the early minutes of the first stanza. Morey scored the Bison's next three points and the Lions lead swelled to 14-5 with 3:25 to go. Bethany went on an 8-0 run to end the first quarter, cutting the Lions' lead to one, 14-13.
• In the second quarter, both teams traded buckets with Ashleigh Wheeler knotting the game at 18-18 with a three-pointer. The Lions' regained the lead but it was short lived with Makezee Mason free throw and an offensive put back followed by a Wheeler three to give the Bison a 24-21 lead. Bethany led by as many as 10 through the course of the quarter. The Bison led 41-33 heading into the break.
• The Lions battled back to cut the deficit to three and later regained the lead 46-45. The Bison and Lions exchanged leads back and forth throughout majority of the third quarter. Bethany's Bella Skobel hit a three to give the Bison a 52-49 lead and Alexis Heap made 1-of-2 free throws for the Bison to lead 53-50 heading into the final quarter.
• The Bison led for majority of the fourth quarter but the Lions clawed to keep a narrow distance from the Green and White. A PSU-Behrend timeout with under five minutes to go in the final stanza sparked the Lions comeback. An old-fashion three point play cut the Bison lead to one, 64-63, with 4:04 left. Moments later, the Lions knotted the game at 64-64 and took the lead with 2:48 to go, 66-65. It was a back and forth affair with Bethany taking the lead with 44 seconds to go after Sophie Morey jump shot.
• After a Lions' timeout, they earned the lead again on another old-fashion three point play. The Lions sealed the win a two made free throws.

IN THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Sophie Morey registered her first career double-double with a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. She pulled down five offensive rebounds.
• Bella Skobel scored 16 points with three rebounds.
• Makenzee Mason added 14 points with eight rebounds. She had a team-high five assists.
• Ashleigh Wheeler had 13 points and three assists off the bench.
• Alexis Heap tallied seven points, seven rebounds and five steals.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Both teams were about even on field goal percentage with PSU-Behrend with the slight advantage 41.9 percent to Bethany's 40.6 percent.
• Behrend shot 46.7 percent from behind the arc making 7-of-15. Bethany shot 20.8 percent shooting 5-for-24.
• The Lions held the rebounding advantage, 39-37.

RECORDS

Bethany College – 2-8 (2-5 PAC)

Penn State Behrend – 7-2 (0-0 AMCC)

UP NEXT

Bethany will return to action after the Christmas Break on December 29, when they travel to Bluffton, Ohio for the McDonald's Holiday Tournament. The Bison will face host Bluffton University at 7 pm.