PITTSBURGH, PA -- The Redhawks incredible 2018-19 season came to a close in the AMCC Tournament Semifinals. The AMCC Reguar Season Champions fell to Penn State Behrend 57-56 on Saturday. La Roche ends the season with a 16-9 record.
Jenna Cole opened the tournament with a nifty post move, but Penn State Behrend limited the Redhawk offense early.
La Roche stepped up defensively to keep within striking distance. Dalesza Regan forced a Behrend travel and Danajah Sanders drew a charge.
Sanders drained an open three to cut the deficit to 14-9 at the 2:32 mark. La Roche forced another turnover and Nia Thomas ran the length of the floor for two. Behrend responded and went into the second quarter with a 21-13 lead.
The Lions opened the second quarter with six straight points and built a fifteen point lead. La Roche got it going with seven straight points. Regan sparked the run with a layup and then Dasja Anderson took over. She scored seven unanswered points including a three point play.
The Redhawks cut it to six and forced a shot clock violation. They entered halftime with that same deficit at 31-25.
Cole took control early in the second half, scoring six of the first eight Redhawk points. La Roche drew a charge on the opposite end and Anderson tied it at 33-33 halfway through the third. She then converted a three point play for their first lead since the game's opening minute. Anderson was dominant on the glass, keeping possession after possession alive for the Redhawks.
Behrend made a small run towards the end of the third quarter and pulled ahead 43-40 at the break.
Cole got the Redhawks within a point, hitting a fast break layup after Regan picked off a pass. Behrend tallied the next six points to go up eight.
Sidney Farmer drained a big three in the corner to cut it back to 53-49 with 3:42 left in regulation. Following two back and forth possessions, Cole pulled down a huge offensive rebound and was fouled to get within a pair.
La Roche had a chance to tie it late, but they missed a jumper and Behrend hung on.
Anderson finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 5 steals. Cole had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Butler dished out 10 assists.