BOX SCORE

Allentown, PA (Feb. 3, 2006) – Senior guard Mandy Reinhart (Pine Grove, PA/Pine Grove) scored a career-high 27 points to lead Alvernia College to a 75-61 win over Cedar Crest College Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women’s basketball action at Cedar Crest.  Reinhart, whose 43-percent 3-point shooting leads the PAC, connected on 5-of-9 shots from behind the arc and 11-of-16 overall.

            Reinhart scored the first seven points for the visitors and nailed a pair of 3s during a pivotal first-half run that helped put the game out of reach.  Alvernia finished the day 30-of-62 from the floor (48 percent) and 9-for-18 from behind the arc.  Junior guard Lauren Fortna (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon Catholic) was the second leading scorer for the Crusaders (10-11, 9-5 PAC) with nine points.  The Falcons (2-14, 1-11) were led by Courtney Porzio with 17 and put three other players in double figures, all with 10.

            Reinhart opened the scoring with a 3 assisted by Fortna and followed with a layup as the Crusaders enjoyed a 5-0 lead in the early going.  Cedar Crest came back with back-to-back layups, but Reinhart sparked a 7-0 spurt with her third straight bucket for the Crusaders.

            Porzio nailed back-to-back 3s for the hosts and an Amanda Swartz free throw pulled the Falcons within one, 12-11 with 11:08 remaining in the first half.  Once again Rienhart stopped the spurt with a bucket as the Crusaders rattled off 16 of the next 18 points to forge a 15-point lead, 28-13 with just under seven minutes on the first-half clock.  Sophomore Ashley Blevins (York, PA/Central York) scored five of her seven points during the streak and Reinhart closed it with her second and third 3s of the day.

            Cedar Crest whittled the first-half lead back down to 12 on two occasions, but the Crusaders ended the half with six straight points to take an 18-point lead into the break, 41-23.  Alvernia shot 52 percent from the floor in the opening half and scored 21 points on 18 Cedar Crest turnovers.

            Reinhart opened the second half with a bucket giving the Crusaders their first 20-point lead of the day, and the visitors slowly built the gap to 28 points when freshman Breon Summer (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park) scored at 6:40 to make the score 71-43.

            Alvernia managed just two field goals the rest of the way as Cedar Crest closed the game with an 18-4 run to cut the gap in half by the final horn.  Porzio led the way with seven of the Falcons 18 over the final six minutes.

            Alvernia will return home on Monday for a PAC doubleheader with Neumann College.

Alvernia 75, Cedar Crest 61