Box Score

ERIE, PA - The Medaille College women's basketball team dropped its second straight game as they made a desperate attempt to erase a double digit deficit in the waning minutes of their game at Penn State-Behrend.  The Lions would hold on to defeat the Lady Mavs (69-66) in a critical AMCC matchup.

In a game that saw eight ties and eight lead changes, the Lady Mavs were unable to overcome (20) turnovers in falling to Behrend.  The host Lions committed just (7) turnovers in the win, as they inched closer to Medaille in the AMCC standings.  It was a seesaw affair that saw the Lady Mavs lead by as many as nine points in the opening half, but they would only carry a (32-30) advantage into the break.

The second half would see a slow start by both teams, but when push came to shove, Penn State-Behrend knocked down their shots, attacked the boards and forced Medaille into crucial turnovers that turned into points on the other end of the floor.  All told, Behrend scored (20) points off Medaille miscues, while the Lady Mavs managed just seven points on Behrend errors.

Medaille dominated the glass in the loss (50-32), which included a (21-12) advantage on the offensive glass.  Those (21) offensive boards resulted in (16) second chance points, as opposed to just (9) for the Lions.  fast break buckets would elude Medaille all evening as Behrend outscored the Lady Mavs on the run (12-0).  The Medaille bench outscored the Behrend reserves (17-9) in the loss.

In the loss Joelle Pollak led all scorers with (26) points on (8 of 18) shooting, which included a (4 for 10) effort from long range along with knocking down (6 of 7) shots from the free throw line.  She also chipped in with (5) rebounds and a pair of assists while logging (38) minutes.

A pair of Lady Mavs came off the bench and gave strong performances as Emily Brophy was (3 for 6) from the floor for nine points, including a half court desperation shot at the final buzzer that caromed in, to cut the final deficit in half.  Junior Tara Caples posted a (6) point, (9) rebound, (2) assist, and (2) block night off the bench as well.  Rookie Brittnee Perrry posted a game high (10) rebounds in the defeat.

The game seemed out of reach as the final seconds ticked down until Pollak was fouled on a three point attempt with Medaille down eight points.  She knocked down (2 of 3) free throws to bring the score to (66-60).  On the ensuing inbound play Behrend dribbled the ball into a strong double team into the half court corner and Medaille drew a jump ball and had the possession arrow in their favor.  Seconds later it would be Pollak who would knock down an NBA distance three pointer with (12.9) seconds remaining to draw within three points at (66-63).  The Lady Mavs would get no closer.

The loss is the second straight for Medaille and their third in the last four games.  They will look to get back on track when they host Penn State-Altoona this Saturday (2/2) at 1:00pm in the Sullivan Center in another AMCC matchup.

SEASON STATS