MCLA rallies past Lycoming 73-69 in Hoops for Hounds tournament

Williamsport, PA- The MCLA Trailblazers rallied from a nine point second half deficit and used a powerful closing run to rally past host Lycoming College 73-69 in the opening game of the Hoops for Hounds tournament Classic.  The Trailblazers improve to 6-4 while Lycoming falls to 2-8 overall.

MCLA will now await the winner of Susquehanna and Eastern in the Championship round tomorrow at 3pm.

Lucy Tremblay was the Trailblazers leading scorer with 24 points.  Joining her in double figures included Danielle Beauchamp with 15 and Johanna Miner with 14.

After a back and forth first half, MCLA led at halftime 35-30.  The hosts quickly took control to open the second half.  With the score at 40-38 in favor of MCLA, Lycoming went on a 17-6 spurt to grab a 55-46 lead with eight minutes to play.  Lycoming's Julia Antonelli, who had a game high 25 points, contributed 8 points in the run.

A three pointer from Tremblay along with a Miner layup made it 55-51 before Lycoming would halt the run with another Antonelli bucket.

MCLA kept coming though, eventually knotting the game at 61 on a Beauchamp layup.  Her free throw completed the three point play to give the Trailblazers a 62-61 advantage with 2:55 left.  MCLA would trade baskets before scoring five straight to take a 69-63 lead with just 45 seconds left.

A Lycoming three point play from Shannon Wheeler cut it to 69-66 and the hosts got a steal from Antonelli, giving them a chance to tie.  However a turnover would doom Lycoming and MCLA's Danielle Scolpino would convert a pair of free throws to push back to a five point lead.

A three pointer from Lycoming's Janelle Ziminski trimmed the margin to 71-69, but Kaitlyn Chenevert calmly sank another set of free throws to provide the final margin.

Tremblay was 10-17 from the floor, including four three pointers as she notched her 24 points.  She added 9 rebounds and 5 assists.  Miner was outstanding, shooting 7-8 from the floor for her 14 points.  She also collected 9 boards.  Beauchamp came off the bench to score 15 points while pulling down 6 caroms.

Antonelli matched Tremblay shot for shot, going 11-17 from the floor for her 25 points.  She completed the double double with a game high 12 rebounds.  Wheeler was the only other teammate in double figures, finishing with 10 points off the bench.  Rachel Scheller added 8 assists in the loss.

Turnovers plagued both teams as the rust from semester break contributed to a combined 49 turnovers.