Box Score ABINGTON, Pa. – A strong start in the first half helped the Penn State Abington women's basketball team pick up its first North Eastern Athletic Conference victory with a 51-35 win over Morrisville State College Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions (3-8, 1-5 NEAC), who struggled at times from the field, shot 42.3 percent from the floor, picked up 19 rebounds19 rebounds and scored 10 points on second chances, all in the first half.
 
Morrisville started the game with a three-pointer from Jordan Anderson, hoping to make a statement from the get go. Unfortunately, the Mustangs' lead did not last long as Teharah Worrell hit a jumper at the 16:07 mark to give Abington the lead change for the remainder of the game. 
 
Abington continued its barrage of shots, hitting a pair of jumpers followed by a Stephanie Keyes' three-pointer to extend the lead 9-3 with 14:17 to play in the first stanza.
 
Despite trailing by six points, the Mustangs kept chipping away in the game, cutting the deficit to just two points three different occasions in the next four minutes, however another three by Keyes, followed by trio of jumpers from Jessica Schmidt, Breanna Lineman, and Worrell, had the game in favor of the Nittany Lions with a 24-11 lead with 4:04 to play. The Nittany Lions would add five additional points to lead 29-14 at the half.
 
It was the first time this season that Abington has not only held a conference team to just 14 points at the half, but it was also the first time that the Nittany Lions had a lead at the half in conference play as well.
 
As both teams came out of the locker room, Abington got on the board with a jumper from Schmidt, only to watch Morrisville drain a three from Kaitlyn Griffin. Both teams vied for the ball, however neither side could find the basket for a span of 2:20 until Griffin's free throw at the 16:31 mark. Abington then went on a 14-3 run with a pair of threes from Keyes and Lineman to extend the lead, 45-21 with 10:50 to play.
 
The remainder of the game had Morrisville trailing, hoping to rally back into the game, however Abington kept the Mustangs at bay in the second half, winding the clock down for the 51-35 win.
 
Abington shot 40.4 percent from the field to Morrisville's 27.3 percent, but the biggest impact was the Nittany Lion's shooting 4-of-11 (36.4%) from beyond the arc. Morrisville struggled to sink the threes, hitting just 19 percent of the shots (4-of-21).
 
Schmidt scored 16 points and 13 rebounds on the day, picking up her fifth double-doubles of the year.  Keyes went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points, while Worrell finished the day with eight points.
 
The Nittany Lions will return to action on Monday, January 20, hosting Elmira College in a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.