Frostburg, Md. - Penn State Harrisburg got off to a sluggish start on the road against Frostburg State Wednesday December 10th. The Lions then rallied from a 16 point deficit at halftime, and as much as a 19 point hole in the second half to shock the Bobcats with a 60-58 comeback victory.
Blame it on the long bus ride, the ugly weather, or preparation for finals, Penn State Harrisburg got off to a less than impressive first half. Falling behind early, the Lions quickly fell into a deep hole shooting just 17% from the field in the first half. The Bobcats used a 19-3 run over the final 11 minutes of the first to head into halftime with a comfortable 32-16 lead.
The Blue and White didn't let the Bobcats stay comfortable for too long as they came out of the locker room an entirely different team. Shaking off the rust, the Lions turned up their defense and only allowed Frostburg to shoot 24% in the second half. The intensity on the defensive end turned into easy buckets on the break for the visiting Lions.
Huge shots by Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) and Janel Brown (Gaithersburg, Md. / Magruder) down the stretch gave the Lions the fire power to pull off the improbable comeback. Brown lead the Lions with a game high 13 points and Yanich contributed with 11 of her own. Sophomore Kaitlyn Carmo (Palmyra, Pa / Palmyra Area) found her form in the second half as well, scoring 9 of her 10 points in the second half.
Following the win, Coach Patrick had this to say about his team, "I'm really proud of our effort tonight. The ladies continue to display a quiet confidence that got a little louder in the second half and were able to convert opportunities that we missed earlier in the game. At the end of the day it's a win, and a conference win on the road at that."
Penn State Harrisburg improves to 2-1 in the CAC and 3-5 overall. The Lady Lions will look to continue their second half heroics into their game Friday night at home against Lancaster Bible at 6pm to finish out the 2014 portion of their schedule.