ASTON, Pa. – Neumann closed the game on an 11-0 run and the Albright Lions women's basketball team (0-2) dropped a 72-63 decision to the Knights (2-0) on Tuesday night at the Mirenda Center in Aston.
Freshman forward
Gabby Boggs hit a layup with 3:20 left to give Albright a 63-61 lead before Neumann's Mariah Maciejewski answered on the other end with a layup of her own to tie the game and kickstart the 11-0 run for the Knights. Maia Bryson followed with a steal and a layup on the ensuing possession to give Neumann the lead for good. The hosts made 5-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 1:41 to help ice the game.
Junior guard
Lauren Killion registered a career-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting (3-of-5 from three) for the Lions and was joined in double figures by Boggs who posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds and sophomore guard
Alli Marcus chipped in with 10 points of her own.
Nafisa Saunders had a game-high 30 points and sank 10-of-13 from the charity stripe to pace Neumann, while Minika Glenn added 14 points and Maciejewski had 12 on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Knights started the game on a 12-0 run before
Zaria Mohamed sank a jumper at the 4:45 mark of the first quarter to get Albright on the board. The Lions cut the lead to single digits as Marcus sank a jumper at the buzzer to make it a 22-13 game. The second quarter belonged to Albright as freshman
Kayana Chisholm hit a layup to kick off a 17-7 run over the final 4:39 of the half and Killion capped it with a pair of free throws as the Lions took a 34-31 lead into the locker room. Killion had 10 of her points during the run including a pair of threes.
Killion scored nine straight points for the Lions in the third quarter and a layup at the 3:03 mark stretched the lead to eight at 49-41. The Knights answered with a 6-2 spurt over the remainder of the quarter and made it a 51-47 game in favor of Albright for the time being. The two teams traded buckets over the first half of the fourth before Neumann's afore-mentioned 11-0 run.
Albright shot 26-of-82 (31.7%) from the field and 4-of-16 (25%) from deep on the night, while Neumann shot at a 45.2% clip (28-of-62) and was 6-of-13 from beyond the arc (46.2%). The Knights were 10-of-13 (76.2%) from the free throw line and the Lions were 7-of-12 (58.3%). Head coach
Janice Luck's squad held a 56-37 advantage on the boards and collected 30 offensive rebounds. Boggs' 14 boards were tied for a game-high with Saunders, while Mohamed corralled eight for the Lions.
Albright is back in action at the Gwynedd Mercy Tip-Off Tournament on Friday, Nov. 16 when they battle Salisbury at 8 p.m.
