READING, Pa. – Sophomore Nina Mazzarelli scored a career-high 23 points and Albright broke the school record for the best start to a season as the Lions defeated Hood 79-48 on Wednesday in its home opener in the Bollman Center to begin MAC Commonwealth play.

Albright improved to 6-0 on the season, which topped the previous school record of 5-0 set by the 2007-08 team. The Lions achieved the record in convincing fashion by posting a 31-point victory over the Blazers, which marks their highest margin of victory of the season.

Mazzarelli, who leads the Lions in scoring, recorded her first 20-point game of the season by shooting 9-of-16 from the floor, which included a perfect 5-of-5 effort from the three-point line. She also added five rebounds, three assists and a steal. In addition to establishing a career high in points, she also broke the Albright record for three-point field goal percentage in a single game with her 5-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Senior Kelecia Harris finished with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal, while Emily O'Donnell posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Alysha Lofton had another outstanding all-around performance as she scored seven points, grabbed 12 rebounds, handed out seven assists and notched three steals.

The Albright defense limited Hood to just 27.0 percent shooting from the floor, which marked the third time this season that the Lions have held an opponent under 30 percent shooting. The Lions shot 47.9 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from the three-point line.

Albright dominated the glass as the Lions owned a 62-35 advantage on the boards, which included 23 offensive rebounds.

Hood, which dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play, was led by Taylor McGaughey who scored 13 points. Alexis Andrukat added 12 points and two steals for the Blazers.

After Alexis Briscoe gave Hood a 13-12 lead with 1:37 remaining in the first quarter, Albright responded with a 7-0 run to close the period. O'Donnell scored four points during the run which gave the Lions a 19-13 lead after one period of play.

The Lions held Hood scoreless during the first 3:28 of the second quarter and increased the run to 16-0 to take a 28-13 with 6:32 to play before halftime. Harris scored five points and Mazzarelli connected on a three-pointer during the opening minutes of the second quarter.

Albright took a 32-15 lead with 5:13 to play in the second quarter following a layup by Amara-Niani Jackson.

Hood closed to within 32-22, but Albright got baskets by Jackson and O'Donnell to take a 38-24 lead into the intermission.

Mazzarelli scored seven points in the third quarter as Albright increased its lead to 57-39 after three periods of play.

Albright dominated the fourth quarter and outscored the Blazers 22-9. The Lions held a 12-2 advantage in points in the paint in the final stanza and never led by less than 20 points after Shannon Thomas converted a layup with 4:19 left in the game.

The Lions return to action this Saturday (Dec. 5) as the team travels to Lebanon Valley for a 1 p.m. tip-off start in conference action.