Lady Warriors Snap Skid in Holding Off Wilkes
Overcome Rocky Opening Half for First Conference Win
Box score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- Lycoming women’s basketball couldn’t have picked a better time to win its first Freedom Conference contest of the season as the Lady Warriors snapped a three-game losing skid in defeating Wilkes University 55-50 on Wednesday evening.  Lycoming improves to 4-10, 1-4 on the season while Wilkes slides to 4-11, 0-5.

Freshman Andrea Cooper (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) scored a game-high 18 points, including 13 in the second half, to help lift the Warriors from an abysmal shooting performance in the first 20 minutes of play.  She also canned four three-pointers, grabbed five rebounds, and blocked a pair of shots.  Senior Amy Kile (Muncy, Pa./Muncy) joined Cooper in double figures with 12 points to go along with five boards and four steals.  Fellow senior Danielle Kern (Lehman, Pa./Lake-Lehman) kept the rebounding battle close with a personal season-high 15 rebounds (seven offensive).  She and guards Stacy Lindeman (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) and Marissa Hastings (Old Forge, Pa./Old Forge) each dropped in eight tallies.

Lacey Andresen led Wilkes with 12 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds.  Guard Tiana Lee helped her out with 11 points and a pair of steals, and post Katie Cappelloni added eight points and four rebounds.

After a Lady Colonel basket would tie the score at 6-6 with 13:28 left in the first half, Lycoming would go on a 9-0 run to take their biggest advantage of the period. Kile started the rally with a jumper from the wing to give the home team an 8-6 lead. Cooper connected on a three-pointer and Kile scored on a drive to up the lead to 13-6 with 12:01 on the clock. Lindeman capped the run with a pair of charity tosses that gave Lycoming a 15-6 lead with 10:40 to go in the stanza.

Wilkes, which played without leading scorer Rena Bolin, used its inside game to rattle off six consecutive points and close to within 15-12. Kelly Patchell knocked down a shot from in close to make it 15-8. After Chelsey Gosse rebounded her own miss and scored to cut the deficit to 15-10, Karyn Perestam hit two free throws to pull the Lady Colonels within three. Wilkes would eventually cut the Lycoming halftime lead to 19-17.

The lead would exchange hands several times early in the second half with Wilkes taking a 34-30 lead on a pair of free throws by Randi Corbo at the 11:32 mark.

The Lady Warriors countered with seven straight points to regain the lead. Kern scored on a drive and Cooper hit a three-pointer to put the Warriors ahead 35-34. Cooper then knocked down a shot from the corner to up the Lycoming lead to 37-34.

Lycoming scored six straight points after Wilkes had closed to within 39-38. Cooper once again led the charge as she converted a pair from the stripe and followed it up with a three-pointer to increase the Warriors’ edge to 44-38. Freshman Lauren Carey (Old Forge, Pa./Old Forge) made one-of-two from the free throw line at the 5:48 mark to give the Warriors a 45-38 lead.

Wilkes would not go away quietly and pulled to within 51-48 on a steal and basket by Lee with 32 seconds left. The Lady Colonels then forced a jump ball regained possession following the inbounds play. Andrea Kacprowicz drove to the basket, but her shot was off the mark. Kile hit both ends of a one-and-one with 21 seconds left to give Lycoming a 53-48 lead, and Hastings did the same with eight ticks left to further strengthen the advantage to 55-48.

Lycoming is next in action on Saturday, January 21, as the Lady Warriors travel to Delaware Valley College.  The Freedom Conference showdown with the Aggies is schedule for 1:00 p.m.