ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University Women's Basketball team defeated Penn State Brandywine in their first home game of the season on Wednesday night by a final score of 64-53.
Jenna Aponik led offensively with 18 points.
Elaina Guerzon added 12 while
Tessa Mullins had 11 points on her way to a double-double, adding 11 rebounds.
Jess Aponik also had 11 boards to go with two blocks.
The game started off very evenly with Neumann leading 6-1 within three minutes but Penn State Brandywine responded with four points in a row with 4:35 left in the first quarter to pull within one. Just a few minutes later, and still a one-point game, the Knights knocked down four three-pointers over the rest of the quarter as part of a 12-5 run, giving them a 20-12 lead heading to the second.
Over the next 10 minutes, only 18 points were scored in total by both teams. With 6:29 left in the half,
Lily DiMarco nailed two jumpers beyond the arc, extending the lead to 29-15. At the intermission, Neumann carried a 31-19 advantage.
The Knights continued their momentum to start the third with a
Jess Aponik layup and a
Hannah Cappelletti three to lead by 17. With 101 seconds left in the quarter, the lead ballooned to its largest distance in the game as Neumann made it 49-28. The Nittany Lions scored the last two buckets and a free throw, closing their deficit to 16.
Penn State Brandywine, over the first 1:13 of the fourth, scored eight points in a row, to claw back into the game. An 8-2 run over the next 3:45 sealed the Nittany Lions fate as they didn't get any closer than eight points.
Neumann (1-1) will be back in action on Saturday when they head to Ursinus College for a 1:00 PM start.
