(ALTOONA, PA:)  Three players scored in double figures for Penn State Altoona, which used a strong second half to cruise past visiting Frostburg State 79-69 Wednesday night at the Adler Gym.  The win snapped the Lions' two game losing skid and bumped their record to 6-6 overall and 4-2 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.  Frostburg fell to 4-9 overall and 1-6 in AMCC play.

The victory also marked the 100th all-time win in Penn State Altoona women's basketball program history.  Entering the 2007-2008 season, the Lions were 94-130 through nine seasons of competition at the NCAA Division III level.  The squad also matched last year's season-long win total.

Clinging to a 36-31 lead at intermission, Penn State Altoona opened the second half on an 11-3 run and allowed the Lady Bobcats only three points in the first eight minutes of the period.  A Brittany Poorman (Altoona, PA/Altoona) lay up at the 14:34 mark pushed the advantage to double figures (44-34), and FSU would not cut it to single digits until the waning seconds.

Senior Erin McGowan (Duncansville, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle), despite making only three field goals, finished with a team-high 16 points and went 8-9 from the foul line.  Sophomore Andrea Mortimer (Rimersburg, PA/Union) scored 11 off the bench, and classmate Alicia Glasser (Marion Center, PA/Marion Center) also made eight free throws and tallied 10.  Altoona got another stellar contribution from its reserves, who tallied 34 points and outscored the Frostburg subs by 13.

Frostburg State actually made one more field goal than the Lions (24-23) but hit just 20-32 at the charity stripe (62.5%) compared to 30-37 by the victors (81.1%).  Both teams had more than 30 turnovers, and a combined 51 fouls were assessed, 28 on the Lions.

The Lady Bobcats placed four players in double digits led by Mercedes White with 19 points and eight rebounds.  Amanda LaPorta scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half while teammates Sidra Bing and Shanell Williams tallied 12 and 10, respectively.

A McGowan triple with 6:28 remaining in the game marked the largest lead of the night for Altoona at 19 (63-44).  The squads exchanged leads five times in an opening half that saw neither team jump ahead by more than seven.

This Saturday, January 19, the Lions will be back at the Adler Gym for a 1:00 PM date with Medaille.  Saturday marks the annual Take A Kid to the Game Day promotion and includes a free youth basketball clinic that morning at 10:00 AM.

CONTACT:        Penn State Altoona Sports Information
                           Steve Crider  --  SID
                           814-949-5173
                           sac310@psu.edu