WBB sweeps pair, in third place

The Penn State women's basketball team finds itself in third place in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference's (PSUAC) West division thanks to a pair of blowout wins over the weekend.

"We played better over these two games," said head coach Scott Hillen. "The key is to build off of this moving forward."

Fayette (4-4 overall, 3-2 PSUAC) defeated Penn State Wilkes-Barre (0-8, 0-6) 69-38 Friday night before downing Penn State Scranton (0-7, 0-6) Saturday, 83-46.

"We played good team defense and moved the ball offensively," Hillen said Friday after the win over Wilkes-Barre. "We controlled the tempo."

Leading 14-12 after the first quarter, Fayette outscored the guests 18-6 to take a 32-18 into halftime.  A 20-11 advantage in the third put the game out of reach as Fayette led heading into the fourth, 52-29.

Taylor McCormick (Laurel, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt HS) led all scorers with 22 points while having game-highs with eight assists and six steals.  Morgan Rigsby (West Portsmith, OH/West Portsmith HS) recorded her first career double-double as she scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.  ZaMeriah Edwards (Houston, PA/Chartiers Houston HS) scored 13 points off of the bench for Fayette, which won that battle 29-0.  Ally Boykin (Canton, OH/Canton McKinley HS) had a career-high five steals.

For the game, Fayette shot 43.9 percent (29-66) while Wilkes-Barre shot 34.9 percent (15-43).  Fayette made six of 13 three-point attempts (55.6 percent) and assisted on 17 of its 29 field goals.

Fayette won the point in the paint battle, 26-16, and turned 25 Wilkes-Barre turnovers into 18 points.

"McCormick, Rigsby and Edwards all played really well," Hillen said.

In Saturday's win, Fayette never trailed, forced 24 turnovers, held Scranton to 23.5 percent (12-51) from the floor and never trailed.

"We played a well-rounded game," Hillen said. "Ally played well and Taylor was a big time leader today.  Morgan is playing very consistent and this was a really good team effort."

Boykin led Fayette with a career high 20 points and recorded five steals for the second straight game.  McCormick had 17 points, a game-high five assists and four steals.  Rigsby recorded her second straight double-double as she had 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Abby Bickerton (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward HS) finished with a career-high 12 points off the bench.

Fayette opens a three-game PSUAC road trip Tuesday when it heads to Penn State New Kensington (0-8, 0-5).

For more information on the women's basketball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/wbkb/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics.