STEUBENVILLE – A hot shooting night from Penn State Altoona sunk the Franciscan women's basketball team 79-65, avenging a 10-point loss earlier in the season.

"We really have to tip our hats to Penn State Altoona," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "They played a great game and made us pay for our mistakes. They are a team on the move in our league."

The Lady Lions shot 56.3 percent from the floor for the night (27-for-48) while the Lady Barons shot 38.7 percent in comparison (29-for-75). Penn State Altoona also won the rebounding game by outrebounding Franciscan 44-28. However, one area that the Lady Barons made improvements in against Altoona was in committing fewer turnovers, which has been a season-long struggle, and only turned the ball over nine times.  

Altoona opened up with a strong first quarter, taking a double-digit advantage off a three-pointer from Danielle DiSanto with 1:47 left and carried a 10-point lead into the second quarter.

However, the Lady Barons came roaring back in the second quarter after applying full-court pressure on Altoona, forcing some turnovers to create easy baskets as part of a 9-3 run to start the quarter. Altoona answered with a 17-4 run going into the locker room, regaining its double-digit lead rather comfortably.

After halftime, it was Franciscan's turn to go on another run, opening the third quarter with eight consecutive points, cutting the Lady Lions' lead down to seven before Altoona even had a chance to get on the score board. The Lady Barons finished the third quarter with an 18-14 advantage but still trailed their opponents by 11 points going into the final 10 minutes of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Franciscan's defense just could not stop the sharp shooting of the Lady Lions as they held on to a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Senior guard Iliana Gonzales led the Lady Barons in points scored and rebounds, earning just her second double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Gonzales also added seven steals on the night. Sophomore forward Bernadette Roach was the team's second leading scorer with 10 points against the Lady Lions.

The loss drops the Lady Barons into a tie for eighth place with Hilbert College in the conference with a record of 5-10 in the AMCC and 6-15 overall. Penn State Altoona, on the other hand, moves into playoff contention and now sits in sixth place.

For the team's next game, Franciscan will honor the late Hank Kuzma when the Lady Barons host Medaille College for Kuzma Community Day on Saturday, February 13, for a 4 p.m. tip.