PITTSBURGH, PA – La Roche women's basketball (20-2, 13-3) cruised to 72-54 win over rival Penn State Behrend (12-9, 11-5) on Saturday to clinch their third consecutive AMCC Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the AMCC Tournament.
"After losing to Behrend last game we really wanted to come out hungry," said Leslie McPherson. "We knew it was a huge game and if we won we'd clinch home court in the AMCC Tournament."
The Lady Redhawks came out determined and started the game on a 17-0 run. Jessica Pitts scored 18 first half points and grabbed 6 boards to guide La Roche to 39-19 halftime lead. They shot 48% from the field in the first half and held Penn State Behrend to just 26% from the field.
LaShauna Brothers scored 10 second half points and went 4 for 4 from the foul line to pace La Roche in the second half.
Pitts scored a game-high 24 points on 8 of 13 from the field and grabbed 9 rebounds. Casie Cygan scored 15 points and LaShauna Brothers added 13 points and 4 rebounds. Amanda Garland had 11 points in the win.
La Roche held Penn State Behrend to just 36% from the field and scored 50 of their 72 points in the paint. The Lady Redhawks forced 28 turnovers with 15 steals and shot 81% (17 of 21) from the charity stripe.
Coach Gissendanner attributed the win to a strong defensive effort and an efficient offense.
"We put forth a solid defensive game today and we were able to get our inside game going offensively and everything else followed."
The win is La Roche's eighth in a row and clinches home court in the AMCC Tournament.
"We are trying to make sure we are playing our best basketball headed toward the end of the season and today's effort put us in the right direction."
The Lady Redhawks will look for their ninth straight win when they host Pitt-Greensburg on Wednesday. La Roche beat the Bobcats 75-53 on January 14.