ESTELLE MANDEVILLE
STAFF WRITER
The Lady Baron’s basketball team pulled a close win against the Penn State Behrend Lions in a game that ended 57-56 on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Lady Barons started slow but kept up with Behrend, and the score at the end of the first quarter was 11-10, Behrend. The Lady Barons came out stronger in the second quarter, trailing 28-25 at the end of the first half.
The Lady Barons played good defense, and by keeping the Lions from taking a shot within the time of the shot clock, the Lady Barons came back in the third.
The two teams were briefly tied at 32 before the Lady Barons pulled ahead with 5:16 left in the third quarter, leading 33-32. At four minutes left in the third, the Lions regained the lead 35-33.
Despite the Lady Barons’ lead, the third period ended with Penn State Behrend leading 43–35. The Lady Barons slowly climbed back in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 51-51 with 3:21 left in the game.
The game was tied again at 55-55 with 22.3 seconds left. Then, senior guard Kelsey Scott–Avery scored, putting the Lady Barons in the lead, 57–55, with 4.5 seconds left.
Then, with one second left, the Lions got a chance at two free throws. They made the first shot, then missed the second, and the Lady Barons took the game. The final score was 57-56, Lady Barons.
After the game, both teams gathered in a circle in the center of the court to pray.
“We were resilient for 40 minutes. No matter what the score was or what was going on in the game, we did not give up,” said head coach Sean Kirk. “We took it one possession at a time and that allowed us to battle back and earn a hard-fought victory against a very good Behrend team.”
“I am extremely proud of every member of this program, players, coaches, chaplain, trainer and everyone who contributes,” said Kirk. “We are playing some of our best basketball at the right time.”
The Lady Barons’ next home game is Wednesday at 8 p.m. against Mount Aloysius College.