The game was tightly contested throughout, as neither team managed more than a five point lead through 20 minutes of play. Albright held a 9-7 lead five minutes in after a jumper from Marie Levins. Alvernia answered with four straight points, and would not allow the Lady Lions to retake the lead for the rest of the half. Albright tied the score on three occasions, the last at 13-13 with 11:41 left in the half, but a 6-1 Crusader run gave Alvernia its largest lead of the half, 19-14, 6:52 before the half. Albright hung around, and pulled within one, 25-24, on two McMahon free throws with 1:32 left in the half. Alvernia would end the half with four unanswered points, getting two foul shots from Erin Knarr and a basket by Janelle Richardson to take a 29-24 halftime lead.
Albright opened the second half with a lay up from Jackie Hardwick, but back-to-back three\'s from Lauren Fortna gave the Crusaders their largest lead of the game, 35-26, three minutes into the half. Natalie Bizzarro answered Fortna\'s second three with a triple of her own to stem the Alvernia run, and the Lady Lions followed with a hoop from Staci Waligorski and two Levins free throws to pull within two, 35-33. Alvernia maintained a slim lead until midway through the period, when Waligorski hit a basket in the paint to tie the score at 41 with 9:44 to play in the game. That was part of a 10-0 Albright run that saw the Lady Lions take their first lead since early in the first half when Mallory Olsheski sank two foul shots, making the score 43-41 Albright. Waligorski capped the run with another hoop down low, and Albright held a small lead for the next five minutes, until Knarr hit two free throws to put Alvernia back on top by a point, 48-47, with 4:27 remaining in the contest. Albright answered with five straight points to lead 52-48 with 2:27 left, but again the Crusaders rallied, tying the score at 53 on two Fortna makes from the line with exactly one minute to play.
Albright took the lead for good with 18 tics on the clock when Hardwick converted a lay up off a feed from McMahon to make the score 55-53. Barnes was fouled at the other end with five seconds on the clock, but made just one of the two free throws, leaving the Lady Lions with a one-point lead. Albright got the ball to McMahon on the inbounds pass, and she was immediately fouled. She calmly sank both shots, and Fortna\'s desperation three was off the mark, giving Albright the win. McMahon\'s 15 led Albright in scoring, followed by Levins with nine and Olsheski and Waligorski with eight each. Hardwick, Waligorski, and Charlotte Ciccone each had eight rebounds, while Ciccone and Bizzarro both totaled four assists. For Alvernia, Fortna led all scorers with 17 points, while Richardson and Knarr each chipped in with eight. Knarr totaled a game-high 11 rebounds, and Kerry Higgs finished with three assists.
Newspaper Box Score Alvernia vs Albright 11/21/06 7:00 pm at Bollman Center - Reading, PA At Bollman Center - Reading, PA ALBRIGHT 57, ALVERNIA 54 ALVERNIA (1-3) Lauren Fortna 5-11 5-6 17; Erin Knarr 2-8 4-4 8; Janelle Richardson 3-11 2-4 8; Allee Barnes 2-9 1-2 6; Kerry Higgs 2-5 1-1 5; Michelle Lutzkanin 1-2 0-0 3; Jill Rosolie 1-5 0-0 3; Ashley Shrawder 0-3 2-2 2; Ashley Blevins 0-2 2-2 2; Tenay Gaddy 0-0 0-0 0; Rachel Koerner 0-0 0-0 0; Camrell Gholston 0-1 0-0 0; Joanna Graber 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-58 17-21 54. ALBRIGHT (2-1) Annie McMahon 3-7 7-8 15; Marie Levins 3-12 3-5 9; Staci Waligorski 4-7 0-2 8; Mallory Olsheski 3-8 2-2 8; Jaqueline Hardwick 2-6 3-6 7; Natalie Bizzarro 2-9 0-0 5; Amanda Medoro 1-1 0-4 2; Charlotte Ciccone 0-9 2-2 2; Jen DuPrau 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 18-61 18-31 57. Alvernia...................... 29 25 - 54 Albright...................... 24 33 - 57 3-point goals-Alvernia 5-15 (Lauren Fortna 2-7; Jill Rosolie 1-3; Michelle Lutzkanin 1-2; Allee Barnes 1-2; Ashley Shrawder 0-1), Albright 3-16 (Annie McMahon 2-5; Natalie Bizzarro 1-2; Mallory Olsheski 0-4; Charlotte Ciccone 0-2; Marie Levins 0-3). Fouled out--Alvernia-Kerry Higgs, Albright-None. Rebounds-Alvernia 40 (Erin Knarr 11), Albright 52 (Staci Waligorski 8; Charlotte Ciccone 8; Jaqueline Hardwick 8). Assists-Alvernia 8 (Kerry Higgs 3), Albright 10 (Natalie Bizzarro 4; Charlotte Ciccone 4). Total fouls-Alvernia 21, Albright 20. A-213