BOX SCORE

Reading, Pa. (Feb. 1, 2014) - Alvernia University (6-13, 2-10) came within three points late in the second half, but Stevenson (11-8, 9-3) held on for a 58-52 win Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Conference women's basketball action at Jack McCloskey Court.

The Crusaders cut a 9-point deficit down to three with 19 seconds to play and had a look to tie, but a pair of foul shots by Stevenson's Kayleigh Guzek kept the win out of reach.

With 8:18 left in the half, Bender and Harmon used the foul line to hold back Crusader attempts to take the lead, keeping the Mustangs ahead 47-44. Stevenson jumped to another 9-point lead with 3:21 left in second half as Guzek hit three jumpers, scoring six unanswered points. Down 55-43, the Crusaders used free throws by Kaitlyn Yoh (Wernersville, PA / Conrad Weiser) and Lindsey D'Agostino (Harrisburg, PA / Central Dauphin East) to help shrink the lead before Jenna Wolff (Newark, Del. / St. Mark's)  drained her second 3 of the day to come within three of the Mustangs. Guzek capitalized on an Alvernia foul, making both free throws to end the Crusader run and seal the win.

Stevenson opened the second half with two free throws by Stephanie Martinez and a layup by Kayla Kelly to increase its lead to 12 within the first two minutes. Tyra Roberts (Bensalem, PA / Bensalem) answered with two layups and a free throw, cutting the lead to seven, but Alvernia faced the 12-point deficit again on scoring plays by Ty Bender and Kyarra Harmon. Down 41-31 with 13:02 left in the half, the Crusaders scored nine unanswered points to come within three of the Mustangs. Led by a Roberts's jumper, Stevie Fortna (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon Catholic)  added four points with a jumper and two free throws before assisting Wolff in a 3-pointer that capped the run.

After alternating leads throughout the first, with neither team leading by more than three, Stevenson broke the 14-14 standoff with 8:17 left in the half on a jumper by Kayla Kelly. The Mustangs reinforced their lead on a pair of free throws by Caitlin Roy and four consecutive points by Kayleigh Guzek.  Yoh responded to the Mustang run by scoring Alvernia's last 6 points of the half on free throws, cutting down Stevenson's lead to eight going into the half.

Through the first half, both teams shot a combined 43% from the floor. The Crusaders made their last field goal with 10:59 still left in the first half. Kaitlyn Yoh was the leading scorer for Alvernia with 15 points, closely followed by Tyra Roberts with 14. Stevenson had three players scoring in double digits, led by Kayleigh Guzek with 15.

Alvernia continues the conference schedule Wednesday at Albright.

Stevenson 58, Alvernia 52