MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's women's basketball team wrapped up non-conference play with an 80-65 loss to Messiah at the Capital Union Building on Monday night, Jan. 8.
Giahny Correa netted a team-high 24 points after accounting for more than a third of the team's field goal attempts. Jayla Galbreath was the only other player in double figures with 11 points.
Behind strong shooting from 3-point range, the Lions (6-10) stayed within striking distance through the end of the first quarter. Penn State Harrisburg led by as many as four following a Bailey Oehmig 3-ball at the 4:23 mark before the Falcons (10-3) closed out the period on a 7-2 run to hold an 18-17 advantage after one.
Messiah opened the second with eight straight points, including back-to-back triples to stretch the lead to 26-17. The Lions fought back and pulled to within three thanks to an Ali Lister layup with 1:40 left before halftime but the visitors put together a 5-0 spurt to end the half and take a 35-27 advantage into the break.
The Falcons came out of the locker room strong and used a 9-2 run to pull ahead 44-29 midway through the third quarter. After Penn State Harrisburg cut a sizeable deficit to 13 midway through the period with a Nicole Hernandez layup, the advantage ballooned to as many as 20 near the end of the third before Galbreath beat the buzzer with a layup to make it 62-44 heading to the fourth.
The visitors maintained their lead early in the final quarter but the home team made one last run and cut the deficit to 13 with an Abril Bowser layup with 6:15 remaining but Messiah responded by scoring 10 of the next 13 points to put things out of reach for good.
NOTABLES
- Messiah was dominant on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 39-23.
- The Falcons scored 17 second chance points.
- The visitors scored 21 points of turnovers, compared to 14 for Penn State Harrisburg.
- Correa finished with a team-high 24 points and three steals.
- Galbreath was the second Lion with double figures with 11 points.
- Oehmig tallied eight points, four rebounds, and three steals.
- Bowser added a career-high seven points off the bench.
- Hernandez chipped in with seven points.
- Lister dished out a team-high four assists and four boards.
- Messiah's Morgan Adams recorded a double-double with a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Lions completed non-conference play with a 3-10 record.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions return to conference play when they travel to United East foe Penn State Abington on Saturday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Threads, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.