ABINGTON, Pa. – A huge second half from sophomore Marah Hayes (Churchville, Pa.), helped the Nittany Lions rally, but Bryn Athyn held on for an 82-71 win on Saturday afternoon. Abington falls to 9-10 and 7-7 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Nittany Lions celebrated National Girls and Women in Sport Day, honoring senior cross-country runner Valerie Santangelo for earning the Legislative Citation Award for her outstanding service.

Hayes hit a team high 24 points and racked up 12 rebounds for the day. Sophomore Shayna Rodriguez (Philadelphia, Pa.) followed with 19 points.

Bryn Athyn pulled ahead of the Nittany Lions late in the first quarter with two consecutive shots from behind the arc to hold a slim lead.

In the first minutes of the second quarter the Lions moved to a double-digit lead, but Abington answered with two three-pointers from Symantha Marrero (Philadelphia, Pa.) to close the gap. Although Bryn Athyn didn't fall behind and entered the half with the advantage.

A strong defensive effort from Bryn Athyn helped them increase the lead even further, holding the Nittany Lions to only 15 points in the third quarter.

Hayes and Rodriguez caught fire in the fourth quarter to rally the Nittany Lions to within eight points, but with three minutes remaining Abington couldn't drop its shots to force overtime.

Next Abington will be on the road against Lancaster Bible College on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.