Box Score

In the season opener for both teams, the Albright College Lions (1-0) used effective fullcourt pressure and some timely bench contributions to defeat the Penn State-Berks Nittany Lions (0-1) 85-57 in non-conference action on Tuesday evening at the Bollman Center.

Albright's defensive pressure helped cause 22 Penn State-Berks turnovers on the evening. Senior guard Jenny Knoebel led the defensive attack with four steals.

Off the bench, the Lions received huge contributions from sophomore guard Victoria Smith and sophomore center Shawn Barczynski. Smith dropped in eight of her 10 points in the first half, while Barczynski totaled eight points and eight rebounds on the night.

In the first half, Albright started out quickly as Knoebel nailed a quick three and a layup off of a Penn State-Berks turnover to give the Lions a 5-0 lead in the first minute. Sophomore center Meghan Boyle then expanded on the lead with two good post moves, and Albright jumped out to an 11-0 advantage to begin the game.

Freshman Jessica Venturelli then made her mark as she hit the first two three-point attempts of her career. After her second three-point make, Albright quickly forced a turnover that resulted in a Kari Ludy layup, which gave the Lions a 24-12 lead halfway through the first half.

The Nittany Lions stayed tough and cut lead the lead to 31-25 with seven minutes to play as Chanell Jones converted a three-point play. However, Albright's continued pressing defense, which caused 13 Penn-State Berks turnovers in the first half, allowed the home side to increase their lead to 49-36 heading into the break.

After both sides failed to hit the scoreboard in the opening moments of the second half, Amanda Tiritilli swished home a three pointer with 17:12 on the clock. Albright kept pushing and a three-point play by Boyle increased the lead to 19 with 15:00 to play.

The Nittany Lions provided little resistance to the Albright run and a Venturelli jumper with 8:10 left on the clock made it a 70-42 ballgame. From there, Albright would keep their sizable advantage in order to secure the victory.

Albright shot an efficient 35-for-69 from the field (50.7%) and dished out 25 assists.

After foul trouble limited her action in the first half, Boyle finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Knoebel ended the game in double figures with 10 points to go along with seven assists, while Venturelli led the Lions with 14 points.

For the Nittany Lions, Ashley Kenny led all scorers with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds. Also finishing in double figures was Kellie Wilson with 10 points.

The Lions will return to action on Friday evening at 6 p.m. when they travel to Hartford Ct. to take on Mitchell College as part of the St. Joseph College Tournament.