ALTOONA, Pa. - Franciscan women's basketball outlasted the Lady Lions of Penn State Altoona 60-50 for its third win of the season and second win in the AMCC.

"Our second half defense won us this game," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "I'm proud of the effort of everybody contributing tonight."

The Lady Barons' defense was on lock-down mode all night long, holding Altoona to 28.4 percent shooting from the floor (19-for-67) and only allowing nine and five points in the first and third quarters, respectively.

While keeping the Lady Lions' offense stifled, Franciscan's offense rose to the occasion as three Lady Barons hit double digits. Senior guard Iliana Gonzales led the team with 18 points while sophomores Lucia Westrick and Sarah Schriner contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.

"Iliana really sparked our defensive effort in the second half and she came through with a solid effort on offense as well," Delaney said.

Westrick also had a huge night on the boards, pulling down her second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, only to be outperformed by senior guard Monica Dawyot on the offensive glass. Dawyot led the Lady Barons in rebounds with 13.

"Monica and Lu paced us on the boards tonight, Monica on the defensive end and Lu on the offensive glass," Delaney said.

Although Franciscan dominated the first quarter, the Lady Lions came to play in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Barons 19-10 to take a three-point lead into halftime.

Franciscan's defense made some more adjustments at halftime, allowing the Lady Barons to take the lead and control of the game with 9:19 remaining in the third quarter.  

The fourth quarter was the most competitive of the night as the Franciscan only outscored the Lady Lions by one point, 18-17. However, the Lady Barons' lead never fell below six points as the team's defense continued its strong performance, eventually handing Franciscan its second conference win of the season.

Junior Nicole Gripp and freshman Alexis Stitt led Penn State Altoona in scoring with 10 points each while junior Gabrielle Pizur grabbed the most rebounds with eight.

Franciscan will wrap up its four-game road trip on Saturday, January 16, when the Lady Barons will travel to Medaille College for a 3 p.m. tip.