(ALTOONA, PA:)  Senior guard Erin McGowan (Duncansville, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) poured in a career high 30 points and drained a 35-footer with two seconds left to break a 64-64 tie and send Penn State Altoona to a 67-64 victory over Lake Erie Saturday afternoon at the Adler Gym.  The Lions won their fourth straight game for the first time since 2003 and improved to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.  The Storm fell to 3-4 and 2-1 in AMCC play.

After Lake Erie guard Jalisa Mitchell tied the game at 64 with 48 seconds left, both teams committed two turnovers before the Storm received possession with four seconds remaining.  Needing to go the length of the court, LEC guard Angela Bethel threw an errant pass that landed in McGowan's hands 15 feet beyond the three point line.  She took one dribble and fired, hitting nothing but net and giving the Lions a 67-64 lead with one second on the clock.  The visitors could not get a shot off as Altoona celebrated its first win over Lake Erie since the 2005-2006 season.

In 30 minutes of action, McGowan connected on 11-18 field goals including 6-10 three pointers and tied a pair of single game records at Penn State Altoona for points in a game (30) and three point field goals made (6).  The next highest point producers for the Lions were Olivia Hallahan (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) and Courtney Carroll (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) with eight points each.

The Storm struggled mightily from the foul line, going just 8-23 and 4-14 in the second half.  They did out-rebound the Lions 48-36, half coming on the offensive glass, and tallied 22 steals on 29 Lion turnovers.  Lake Erie committed 23 turnovers including the final giveaway that led to McGowan's heroics.

The game featured nine ties and 11 lead changes, eight in the first half, and Lake Erie used a 9-1 run in the final 4:42 of the opening period to stake a 35-30 lead at intermission.  Altoona began the second period on a 5-0 run and finally took the lead 50-49 when Cassie Proper (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) canned a three pointer at the 8:39 mark.  Mitchell would cash a trey of her own with four minutes and change remaining as the Storm recaptured the lead 60-59.

Penn State Altoona was 11-22 from beyond the arc and shot 42.4% from the field in the game.  Lake Erie attempted 14 more shots but scored one fewer field goal and shot 32.9% on the night. 

Mitchell finished with 27 points in a losing effort, going 10-23 from the field but only 3-10 from the charity stripe.  Teammate Alyssa Wagers had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

All 11 Penn State Altoona players who saw court time played at least nine minutes and nine of those players had points.

The Lions are back in action next Saturday, December 15, in a non-conference game against Waynesburg.  Tip off is 1:00 PM at the Adler Gym.

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