JUNIATA IMPROVES TO 3-0 WITH WIN OVER PENN STATE-ALTOONA

ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State-Altoona may have gotten on the scoreboard first, but Juniata College held the Lions scoreless for seven minutes after their initial bucket and cruised to a 79-73 win, in women's basketball action Tuesday night at Adler Gym in Altoona, Pa.

The Lions' Brittany Poorman nailed a three-pointer just over a minute into the contest, but the Eagles responded with an 11-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish, keyed by a pair of Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) layups to start the Juniata breakaway.

Penn State-Altoona would not score again until the 11:57 mark of the opening frame, when Natalie Sheehan connected on a pair of free-throws.

The Eagles slowly pulled away from the Lions over the remainder of the half, and held a 37-24 lead at the half. Juniata's lead reached its widest at 18 points, 46-28, with 16:56 to play in the second half following a Kelly Ashcraft (Bellefonte, Pa./State College Area) jumper.

Juniata survived a second-half comeback attempt by the Lions, who trimmed the Eagle lead to one possession, 69-66, with 2:21 remaining on the clock after a layup by Altoona's Alicia Glasser. Hnatuck nailed a pair of free-throws to expand the Juniata margin, and Ali Meckey (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll) drained a trey to further widen the lead to 74-66 with just 1:34 remaining.

The Eagles, who shot just 63.2% (24-38) at the line for the entire game, made five of six free-throws over the final 1:08 to preserve the win.

Claudia McDowell (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) led the Eagles with 21 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. McDowell was one of three Eagles in double figures; Hnatuck finished with a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Ashcraft chipped in with 10 points.

Glasser paced the Lions with a game-high 24 points, including 13-of-14 at the free-throw line.

Juniata dominated Altoona on the boards, 42-32, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Eagles committed 30 turnovers on the night, only slightly better than the Lions' 31 turnovers.

Juniata improves to 3-0 with the win, heading into Saturday's road contest at Pitt-Greensburg. Penn State-Altoona fell to 0-3 with the loss.

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