READING, Pa. – The Albright women's basketball team started strong and never looked back in the 2019-20 home opener, earning an 87-38 victory against the Neumann Knights on Tuesday evening.
The win lifted the Lions to a 2-0 start, while the Knights fell in their season opener.
At the last Lions-Knights meeting on Nov. 13, 2018, Neumann pulled away from Albright in the fourth quarter for a 72-63 win. Albright has now won five of the six games since Jan. 2014.
Tonight's 49 point margin of victory is the largest since the Albright women's basketball defeated Keystone College 88-34 in Jan. 2006 with a 54 point margin.
Sophomore
Brady Wassel recorded her first Albright career double-double in the win after posting 10 rebounds and scoring 14 points, while adding two rebounds and two steals. Classmate
Dejah Terrell led the Lions' scoring with 24 points from shooting 9-of-16 from the floor, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore
Gabby Boggs led the Lions defensively, grabbing a total of 13 rebounds and adding four points paired with three steals.
Off the bench, sophomore
Maggie O'Hare went 3-of-4 from the floor, 6-of-8 from the line, and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to score 15 points total in the win. Classmate
Abby Gaffney registered 11 points after a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, 1-of-1 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. First-year players,
Lindsey Williamson and
Amy Jones, made their Albright debut, with Williamson scoring three points in the game.
Just after tip-off, Terrell hit a series of layups and a three-pointer to kick off a 25-0 run for the Lions. The dominance continued from there, as a strong Lions' defense caused 20 points off turnovers in the first half alone. Albright led 54-18 at half as the teams headed into the locker room.
Albright stretched their lead after returning to the court in the second half, highlighted by a three-pointer from both Terrell and O'Hare as well as a series of free-throws made by the Lions. After the third quarter, the Lions led 76-28; sophomore
Kayana Chisholm sat atop the Lions' scoring in the fourth quarter with four points for an 87-38 Albright win.
The Lions shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field overall after shooting 50 percent in the first half. Albright went 47.5 percent (9-of-19) from beyond the arc and 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the free throw line, while holding a 44-30 rebounding advantage. The Knights shot 14-of-52 (26.9 %) from the field, 4-of-15 (26.7%) from beyond the arc, and 6-of-10 (60%) from the line. The Lions earned a total of 28 points off Neumann turnovers.
Leading the Knights was first-year Terea Hunt with 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Shaylah Green scored nine points and junior Jaylin Ortiz picked up six rebounds.
Albright women's basketball will travel to Union, N.J. for the Kean Tip-Off Tournament and face Wheaton College (Mass.) on Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be held at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, Nov. 16.
