ABINGTON, Pa. - A shorthanded Penn State Harrisburg's women's basketball team erased a narrow deficit in the closing minutes to steal a 78-73 road victory from United East foe Penn State Abington on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 13.
Nicole Hernandez recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Giahny Correa scored the final seven points en route to a team-high 22. Abril Bowser netted a career-high 13 points off the bench and a returning Jenna Montana added 11 points.
With Penn State Harrisburg (7-10, 4-0 United East) trailing 73-70 with a minute and a half remaining, Hernandez converted a free throw to bring the visitors to within two before Penn State Abington (5-12, 1-3 United East) came away empty on the ensuing possession.
Correa barreled towards the rim to draw a foul with 38 seconds left and sank both free throws to pull her team even. The home team had a chance to answer after using a timeout but an errant jump shot gave the ball back to the visitors with 30 ticks to play. Correa again charged towards the bucket, absorbed contact, and finished at the rim while being fouled before converting an old-fashioned 3-point play that proved the difference with 11 seconds left.
Penn State Harrisburg built a double-digit lead late in the opening quarter but the home team chipped away before pulling ahead for the first time midway through the second period. Abington held a 33-31 advantage at halftime and the third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to mount a lead of more than four points.
NOTABLES
- Penn State Harrisburg shot 40.3 percent from the floor and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.
- The visiting Lions won the rebounding battle 49-41.
- The Penn State Harrisburg bench outscored the Penn State Abington reserves 33-9.
- The home team shot 93.3 percent from the foul line but had seven less attempts than the visiting Lions.
- Hernandez recorded the first double-double of her career with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
- Correa netted a team-high 22 points and added four assists.
- Bowser scored a career-high 13 points to go along with five boards off the bench.
- In her first game back, Montana had 11 points, five assists, and five rebounds.
- Ali Lister did some dirty work with eight boards and a game-high six assists.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to St. Mary's (Md.) for a marquee conference matchup on Tuesday night.
STAY CONNECTED
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