Buena Vista, Va. - After falling to the last place Frostburg State Bobcats, Wednesday February 4th, the Lady Lions looked to regroup Saturday February 7th against the Knights of Southern Virginia. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, they were not able to snap their six game skid as they fell to the Knights 88-61.
It seems that the Achilles heel for Penn State Harrisburg the last few games has been turnovers. Southern Virginia recognized this early against the visiting Lions and capitalized on their mistakes. The Knights started off fast against the Blue and White starting the game on a 12-3 run over the first five minutes of play. The Lions did what they could to keep the game close, but the home team was just too much. Southern Virginia forced Harrisburg into committing 21 of their 32 turnovers in the first half that led to easy buckets for them at the opposite end. Penn State Harrisburg went into the break trailing the Knights 43-22.
Attempting to clean things up in the second half, Harrisburg was able to get as close as 11, four minutes into the second half. However, this is as close as the Knights would allow them to get. Southern Virginia continued to execute and control the paint where they out rebounded the visitors 53-38. Harrisburg had a difficult time keeping SVU off the offensive glass where the Knights pulled in 25 offensive boards that led to easy put backs. Southern Virginia cruised to an 88-61 victory and sent the Lady Lions home with their 11th conference loss of the season.
Junior sharpshooter, Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) continues to shine for the Blue and White as she tallied 16 points in the loss, including 4-8 from deep. Kiara Carter (Bronx, NY. / Milton Hershey) also had a strong game scoring ten points and pulling down 9 boards in the defeat.
Penn State Harrisburg will look to finish the season strong starting next Wednesday February 11th, when they travel to Marymount to take on the Saints at 6 p.m.