
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche women's basketball celebrated five seniors on Saturday and behind a dominant fourth quarter, pulled away from Penn State Altoona, 74-48.
The first four minutes of play were even, as the score sat tied at 5-5.
The remainder of the quarter belonged to the Lions, outscoring the Redhawks, 10-4, taking a 15-9 lead into the second.
With 7:41 to go in the second, the red and black saw themselves trailing, 21-12, but would cut the deficit to 22-19 with 5:30 remaining.
Still trailing, 26-23 with the clock reading 2:06, La Roche used a 6-0 run to close the half and take a 29-26 lead into the break.
Out of the locker room, Altoona would start with a 5-0 run to jump back ahead, 31-29, in the first minute.
What followed over the next 5:30 was an 18-2 push by the Redhawks, storming ahead to take a 47-33 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the third.
The Lions would trim the deficit back down to seven by the end of the quarter, as the red and black led 51-44 going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was complete domination by La Roche, outscoring Altoona, 23-4 in the 10-minute frame, pulling away for its 20th win of the season.
For the game, the Redhawks shot 42.2% (27-for-64) from the floor and 7-for-15 (46.7%) from deep. From the charity stripe, they went 13-for-16 (81.3%).
On the other side, the Lions went on to shoot 35.8% (19-for-53) from the field, 5-for-14 from deep (35.7%) and 5-for-8 (62.5%) from the foul line.
Makayla Abram led all scorers in the game, pouring in 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, chipping in four rebounds and a pair of assists.
Alexis Robison followed with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Dasja Anderson scored 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
La Roche has earned the #2 seed in the AMCC Tournament and will await the winner of #3 Mt. Aloysius and #6 Pitt-Bradford. The Redhawks begin the tournament in the semifinals and take the floor on Friday, Feb. 29 at 8 p.m.
The tournament semifinal/final is hosted by top seeded and AMCC regular season Champion, Penn State Behrend.