READING, Pa. – The Albright women's basketball team completed the series sweep against local rival Alvernia with a 64-61 MAC Commonwealth win in the Bollman Center on Saturday.
With the win, the Lions advance to 6-6 in conference and 11-7 overall. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolves drop to 3-9 in conference and 9-10 overall.
Senior
Gabby Boggs recorded her 15
th double-double of the season with 18 points behind 7-for-14 shooting and 16 rebounds. Senior
Brady Wassel notched a double-double as well with a season-high 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe and 10 boards. Senior
Abby Gaffney followed with eight points, six rebounds, and three assists. The Lions saw a total of nine scorers contribute to the victory.
Alvernia came out hot with back-to-back threes to take an early 6-2 advantage. Albright responded with a 5-2 run sparked by Boggs from the charity stripe and capped off with a basket from senior
Emma Blewett to get the Lions within one. A 7-3 advantage for the Golden Wolves put them ahead 15-10 at the 4:02-mark. The Lions got within two as the two teams traded baskets, but Alvernia took a six-point lead following consecutive baskets to pull ahead 20-14 at the 1:11-mark. Wassel netted the final basket of the opening quarter to cut the Lions deficit to 20-16. The Golden Wolves opened the second stanza with a 9-4 run to take their largest lead at 29-20. Eight unanswered points for Albright got them within one at the 4:43-mark. Alvernia closed out the half with a 3-2 advantage as they held onto a 32-30 lead.
The Golden Wolves used a 4-1 advantage to hang onto a five-point lead. Albright finally found their footing as Wassel fueled a 7-0 run capped off with a Boggs layup that allowed the Lions to take their first lead of the game at 38-36. Alvernia tied the game up at 38, but Boggs put Albright back in front with another basket that sparked a 9-1 run to give them a 47-39 lead at the 2:23-mark. Alvernia closed out the second stanza with a free throw and a basket to cut their deficit to 47-42. Both teams battled hard opening the fourth quarter with multiple trips to the charity stripe. The Golden Wolves got within three-points of the Lions, but Boggs and Wassel added back-to-back buckets to extend their lead to 55-48 at the 6:12-mark. Six-straight points from the free-throw line put Alvernia back within one with 4:26 remaining. Albright then used a 5-2 advantage to pull ahead 60-56. The two teams traded free throws until the Golden Wolves knocked down a big three-pointer to make it a one-point game with 26 seconds left to play. Albright was able to hold onto the ball and knock down a pair of free-throws to solidify their 64-61 win.
Albright shot 21-for-59 (35.6%) from the floor, 2-for-11 (18.2%) from beyond the arc, and 20-for-35 (57.1%) from the charity stripe. The Lions notched 32 points in the paint and held a sizable 53-37 rebound advantage. Meanwhile, Alvernia shot 19-for-63 (30.2%) from the field, 5-for-18 (27.8%) from three-point range, and 18-for-23 (78.3%) from the free-throw line. The Golden Wolves saw 16 points off their bench and tallied 22 points in the paint.
The Lions will return to action on Wednesday at 6 p.m. as they travel to Eastern to continue MAC Commonwealth action.
