(ALTOONA, PA:)  Penn State Altoona converted 26 turnovers into 32 points and held a 38-24 advantage in the paint as the Lions cruised past visiting Lancaster Bible College 83-58 Thursday night at the Adler Gym.  The Lions won their third straight and hiked their record to 9-9 overall while the Chargers dropped to 4-13.

Altoona got off to a sluggish start as Lancaster Bible tied the game at 10 on a pair of Lacy McClaine free throws at the 13:43 mark.  The Lions responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Cassie Proper (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) three pointer but the pesky Chargers battled back and retied the game at 21 with 5:51 remaining.  Altoona again responded, this time with a 14-0 spurt highlighted by six points from Alicia Glasser (Marion Center, PA/Marion Center) to jump ahead 35-21. 

Trailing 40-23 at halftime, the Chargers scored the first four points of the second half and got to within 10 (46-36) on a McClaine trey with 15:54 to play.  Glasser, who scored a game-high 23, would make sure that was as close as Lancaster Bible would get, draining three long balls in four possessions to extend the lead to 64-40 four minutes later.  A Kelli Steiner (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) lay up spiked the advantage to 28, the largest of the game, and all 11 Lions who saw floor time scored a basket.

Lancaster Bible finished the game 23-62 from the field (37.1%) and shot 6-18 from beyond the arc (33.3%).  The Chargers did not receive a single point from their bench but did place four players in double figures.  McClaine netted a team-high 22 while teammates Meredith Wrightson and Kelly Long each scored 13.  Wrightson yanked 17 rebounds, and Nicole Karschner chipped in 10 points for the Chargers, who are in their second year of NCAA provisional status.

While the Charger bench proved relatively ineffective, the Lions got more than half of their points (52) from their reserves.  Nineteen of the squad's 33 field goals were assisted, and Altoona held a 12-2 advantage in fast break points while committing only 11 turnovers.

Penn State Altoona held a 47-40 advantage on the boards and got nine rebounds and 10 points from senior Erin McGowan (Duncansville, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle).  As a team, the Lions shot 33-81 from the floor (40.7%) and 8-24 from downtown (33.3%) despite making only 2-14 (14.3%) treys in the first half.

Sophomore reserve Morgan Dougherty (Chadds Ford, PA/Unionville) handed out a career high eight assists, six coming in the second half.  In last year's meeting, a 79-37 Altoona victory, LBC made only nine field goals in the game, a number it matched after one half tonight.

The Lions return to AMCC action this Saturday, February 2, as they travel to Painesville, Ohio, for a 1:00 PM game against Lake Erie.  McGowan drained the game-winning trey with tenths of a second left in the squads' first meeting on December 8 in Altoona.

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