First Win of the Season for Greater Allegheny Women's Basketball, 68-55

McKeesport, Pa. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny women's basketball team swiped their first win of the 2014-15 season, Friday, as Greater Allegheny took on Pitt-Titusville in the first women's match-up of the Penn State Greater Allegheny Tip-Off Tournament.

Senior power forward Christina Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./Sts. Neumann-Goretti) came out of the game with two layups before freshman point guard Mandi Johnston (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) completed aced a three-pointer and a free-throw to put Greater Allegheny ahead of Pitt-Titusville, 14-8, within the first five minutes of action. Freshman forward Kelly Moore (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen) inflated Greater Allegheny eight points to lead Pitt-Titusville, 20-13.

Floyd slashed a jumper before sophomore guard Tra-Esha Carswell (Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) completed a layup. Pitt-Titusville crept back to GA, standing at a 26-25 heat with three minutes to play. Titusville held Greater Allegheny scoreless those last minutes of the first half as the away team went to the locker room with the score reading 31-26 Titusville.

Things clicked after the break and Greater Allegheny put on to exceed Titusville. Additions from Floyd, Moore and Carswell lifted GA's mark to 43-35 over Titusville just seven minutes into the second half. M. Johnston noted a layup and one before freshman forward Morgan McCallister (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) made her presence known with a layup, extending the lead to 48-35. 

Titusville fought on to get closer to the Lions with seven minutes left in regulation. Carswell, Moore, Floyd, M. Johnston and freshman guard Tori Johnston (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) peppered Titusville with tallies through three minutes of play, advancing themselves to 58-48. Sophomore guard Brianna Audette (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) completed a free-throw before McCallister dumped a layup. Audette followed up with a ringer of a three-pointer as McCallister put up two layups to polish off Pitt-Titusville by a tally of 68-55.

With the win, Greater Allegheny is now on the board with a record of 1-1. Floyd finished 10-of-18 from the floor, pulling down 25 boards and marking 21 points. Moore had her first double-double of the season with 14 points and eleven rebounds, getting in the way for five steals and a block. M. Johnston posted 15 assists and seven points.

As a team, PSUGA hammered down 52 points in the paint along with 22 on second-chance points.

Penn State Greater Allegheny will now move on to the Championship round in the Penn State Greater Allegheny Tip-Off Tournament. Tip-off against University of Cincinnati-Clermont is set to begin at 3 p.m.

You are able to check in for periodic updates on the tournament webpage. Click here!