Lions Outlast Lehigh Valley In League Opener

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- Penn State Brandywine forced 34 turnovers and recieved five double-figure scoring efforts as the Lions claimed their Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference women's basketball opener by an 81-78 count against Penn State Lehigh Valley on Saturday.

Brandywine (1-1, 1-0 PSUAC) converted Lehigh Valley's 34 turnovers into 37 points.

Jessy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) paced the Lions with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Lauren Munro (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) and Stacey MacArthur (Newtown Square, Pa./Delco Christian) both netted 13 points. Chrissy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) chipped in 11 points and Cashae Hinton (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) added 10.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Chrissy Gledhill helped Brandywine storm out to a 16-5 lead after four minutes. Lehigh Valley chipped away and took a 29-28 following Ashley Gordon's layup at the 9:45 mark.

LV built a lead as large as six points before Jilly Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) drained a three-pointer with 15 second to play in the half, but Jaileen Maldonado answered with a jumper just before the buzzer and Lehigh Valley led 48-43 after 20 minutes.

Munro jumpstarted a 10-2 run to start the second half with a pair of layups and a free throw as Brandywine retook the lead 53-50.

Jessy Gledhill pushed the edge to seven with a lay in, but Lehigh Valley once again rallied, slicing the deficit to 66-64 with 8:06 to play. Brandywine answered as Jessy Gledhill sank a jumper and followed with a triple, ballooning the lead back to seven.

With three minutes left, Ashley Gordon's bucket pulled Lehigh Valley within one and Andrea Watkins followed with four-straight points, handing LV a 78-77 edge.

After a missed shot by Brandywine, Lehigh Valley pulled in the rebound with 30 seconds to play. During the ensuing possession, Hinton stepped in front of a pass, grabbing a steal, and found MacArthur on the other end of the court, who sank a layup to put Brandywine back in front.

With an opportunity to tie or move in front, Lehigh Valley turned the ball over for the 34th time in the game, with three seconds to play, and Chrissy Gledhill sank a pair of free throws to ice the game for the Lions.

Hinton handed out eight assists and collected six steals and five rebounds, while MacArthur tallied eight boards, five assists and three steals.

Brandywine shot 34 percent (31-89) from the field and recorded assists on 25-of-31 baskets.

Lehigh Valley was paced by 24 points from Watkins, while Taylor Russell recorded 14 points and 20 rebounds. LV made 46 percent of its shots from the field and held a 59-44 edge on the glass.

Brandywine is back in action on Sunday with a 1:00 pm home contest against Penn State Wilkes Barre.