By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Middletown, Pa. – Feb. 3, 2013) Visiting Morrisville State College women’s basketball fell behind early and was unable to recover as host Penn State Harrisburg posted the 57-43 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) win Sunday afternoon in Middletown.
Morrisville State drops to 1-20 overall, 1-12 in conference play. The Nittany Lions improve to 14-6, and reach the 10-3 mark in NEAC action.
Courtney Coley (Bronx, N.Y.) and LaCandice Sanders (Waco, Tx.) were the lone Mustangs to reach double figures, netting 11 and 10, respectively. Kamilla Ferguson (Willingboro, N.J.) added nine, collecting a team high seven rebounds, three on the offensive glass. Nijee Scott (Bronx, N.Y.) dished out a team best five assists.
Jasmine Yanich led the Nittany Lions with 17 points, adding 10 rebounds for the double-double, while Amanda Moyer added nine points and a team high 16 rebounds.
The game was uneventful for the first 10 minutes of the contest, as Harrisburg held a 9-6 lead, but the Nittany Lions capitalized off two Mustang turnovers and missed shots to put together an 11-2 run for the 12 point advantage.
A three-point play by Coley late in the half cut the Harrisburg lead to five with 1:43 to go before intermission, but Yanich added a lay-up with seconds on the clock to send the Nittany Lions into the break with the 25-17 lead.
Morrisville State opened the second half with seven straight points, cutting the deficit to just two at 16:34.
The Mustangs stayed within single digits of the Nittany Lions, until a 10-0 offensive burst put the hosts ahead by 15 with just under nine minutes remaining on the clock, and proved to be too much as Morrisville State was unable to recover.
Morrisville State returns to the court Wednesday, hosting Wells College at 5 p.m.