Front Royal, VA – The #9 ranked Lady Crusaders earned a decisive 69-45 victory against the #13 Penn State York Nittany Lions on Tuesday, February 12.
The Lions went up 5-0 at the beginning of the game, with a quick 2-pointer and 3-pointer on their first two possessions. Regina Bonvissuto (Junior/Kingston Springs, TN) answered for the Crusaders with back-to-back 3-pointers. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, until the Crusaders went on a 6-0 run to go up 14-9 in the last minute of the quarter. The Crusaders came out strong in the second quarter with a 7-2 run which put them up 21-11. However, the Lions continued to play hard, and made a run of their own to go up on the Crusaders 26-25 with 2 minutes left in the half. The Crusaders regained the lead with a floater from Catherine Thomas (Junior/Corpus Christi, TX), and Christendom then closed out the rest of the quarter strong, going into halftime up 31-26.
The Lions scored a quick bucket to open the second half, cutting the Christendom lead down to three. However, Lili Speier (Senior/Phoenix, AZ) hit two free throws and Mary Pennefather (Freshman/Manassas, VA) hit a step-back 3-pointer to extend the Crusader lead back to eight. The Crusaders maintained their lead for the rest of the quarter and went into the fourth quarter up 47-38. Christendom sealed their victory with an incredible fourth quarter, in which they outscored the Lions 22-7. They began the quarter with a 3-pointer by Pennefather, and then Miranda Keller (Junior/Harrisburg, PA) hit a fadeaway shot to put the Crusaders up 52-41. The Crusaders kept rolling offensively and played great defense for the rest of the quarter, ultimately winning 69-45.
The Crusaders' offense was very well-balanced. Thomas led in scoring with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Pennefather had an excellent game, with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. Bonvissuto scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Keller notched a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Up next – The Crusaders take on the Central Penn Knights in and ESAC matchup at home on Thursday, February 15, at 5:00pm.