Brandywine Fends Off Beaver For Road Victory

MONACA, Pennsylvania -- The Penn State Brandywine women's basketball team withstood a late push from Penn State Beaver and held on for a hard-fought 77-73 triumph Saturday night.

The Lions (12-5, 7-0 PSUAC) forced 35 turnovers, including eight steals by Lauren Munro (Glendolden, Pa./Interboro) and five thefts from Cashae Hinton (Norristown, Pa./Norristown), and four-of-five starters scored in double figures. Hinton netted a team-high 19 points, while Munro buried 6-of-11 shots for 15 points.

Brandywine led by 10 with 2:30 to play following a pair of Hinton free throws, but Beaver rallied, cutting the Lions' lead to just three on two occasions during the final 35 seconds. Munro and Myeisha Matos (Philadelphia, Pa./JW Hallahan Catholic) both made 1-of-2 free throws and Munro collected her eighth steal of the game with seven seconds remaining to seal the victory for Brandywine.

The Lions used an 18-4 run, spurred by a pair of three-pointers from Stacey MacArthur (Newtown Square, Pa./Delco Christian) and a triple by Olivia Encarnacion (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro), to build a 14-point lead midway through the first half.

The combination of Asia Borders and Morgan Kurtz helped Beaver rally as the duo combined to score the team's next 14 points, while holding Brandywine to just one made field goal over a nine-minute span.

Kurtz gave Beaver the lead with a free throw at the 2:40 mark, but Hinton scored the final five points of the half for Brandywine and the Lions grabbed a 34-33 edge after 20 minutes.

The game was tied 41-41 when Encarnacion started an 8-0 spurt for Brandywine with a jumper. Munro capped the run with a pair of fast-break layups.

Beaver again charged back as Kurtz connected on a triple to open an 11-0 surge for the hosts. After Kurtz buried a jumper to knot the score at 56-56, Hinton answered with a triple to halt the run.

Brandywine steadily increased its cushion, pushing the lead to double figures with four-straight Hinton free throws with under three minutes to play.

Encarnacion and MacArthur both tallied 14 points for Brandywine, while Munro grabbed five rebounds and Hinton handed out four assists. The Lions overcame a 30-rebound deficit on the boards (57-27).

Kurtz led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, while Borders produced a double-double with 21 points and 14 boards for Beaver.

Brandywine is back in action Sunday at Penn State Greater Allegheny at 1:00 pm.