Big Second Half Helps Brandywine Pull Away From Mont Alto

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine outscored Penn State Mont Alto 43-19 during the final 20 minutes as the Lions produced a 71-48 Penn State University Athletic Conference women's basketball victory, their eighth-straight triumph, on Saturday afternoon.

Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) fueled the long, second-half run for the Lions by combining for six three-pointers and 25 total points during the final 20 minutes.

After a sluggish first half that saw Mont Alto grab a 29-28 lead, Abbonizio quickly tied the game at 33-33 with a triple. Abbonizio and Velez each tacked on three-pointers during an 11-2 Brandywine run that helped the Lions' lead swell to nine points.

Nicolette Napoleon (Springfield, Pa./Penn Charter) put down a layup to make the score 48-41 at the 1:25 mark and Abbonizio and Velez each followed with three-pointers to push the edge to 54-41 through three quarters.

Brandywine continued to pour it on the in the final stanza, using a 10-0 surge, capped off by a Chelsea Dent (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) jumper, to establish their largest advantage at 23 points.

Velez posted a game-high 20 points, pulled down eight rebounds and collected four steals, while Abbonizio was 6-of-10 shooting, finishing with 15 points. Dent registered nine points and six steals and was one-of-four Lions to grab eight boards. Kendra Stanford (Philadelphia, Pa./William Bodine) added 12 points for Brandywine, which shot 39 percent from the field.

The Lions forced 23 Mont Alto turnovers and held a 54-36 advantage on the boards. Mont Alto received 10 points from both Shelly Trumpower and Charity Miller.

Brandywine (11-4, 4-1 PSUAC) plays its third game in four days on Monday at home against Penn State Wilkes Barre (6:00 pm).