Reading, Pa. (Jan. 8, 2025) - Alvernia Women's Basketball (7-5, 1-0) closed out its conference opener on a 14-3 run to secure a 59-51 win over York College (7-5, 0-1) on Wednesday night in the MAC Commonwealth Women's Basketball opener at Alvernia's Jack McCloskey Court.

In a game that finished with 21 lead changes and ties, Alvernia closed out strong with a 14-3 run in the final five minutes of action. The Golden Wolves tied the game at 48-48 on a step-back jumper from Paige O'Brien, and Alvernia's defense shut things down from there.

How it Happened

• York held an early 9-3 lead through the first two minutes of the game, but a pair of layups from Olivia Burke and Jennah DeGout quickly brought Alvernia within two, 9-7. Alvernia then tied it up on a steal and layup from Kylie Bradford to make it a 9-9 game at the midpoint of the quarter.
• After a quick scoreless spell by both sides, Alvernia took the 11-9 lead on a DeGout layup off a steal by Nicole Etchison. Alvernia and York then traded points, but York's Morgan Adams hit a 3-pointer to close out the quarter and give the Spartans a 16-13 lead going into the second.
• York scored the opening points of the second quarter to extend its lead to five, 18-13. But, Alvernia answered with a three point play by Burke to bring the Golden Wolves back within a possession, 18-16, through the first 90 seconds of second quarter action. However, those would be the final points scored for the next nearly four minutes.
• A putback jumper by Paige O'Brien got things going again for Alvernia and tied the game at 18-18 with 4:43 to play in the opening half. 
• York's scoring resumed and the Spartans pushed their lead to six, 26-20, with a minute to play in the half. Alvernia scored the final three points with made free throws by Jordyn Ingelido and Etchison to make it a 26-23 game in favor of York  going into the half.
• Bradford opened the scoring for Alvernia in the second half to bring the Golden Wolves within one, and a DeGout layup gave Alvernia the 27-26 lead as Alvernia held York scoreless for nearly three minutes to open the half. 
• The Spartans got on the board for the half with a 3-pointer to retake the lead, but Alvernia tied it back up at 29-29 on its next possession. Alvernia was then held scoreless for over three minutes, but the Spartans could not build up much of a lead, and Alvernia quickly was back within two, 33-31, on a Ryleigh Poole layup with 3:33 to play in the quarter.
• The Spartans held onto the lead for one more minute until a driving layup from Burke gave Alvernia the 36-33 lead, and a layup from DeGout made it a five point game, 38-33, in favor of the Golden Wolves with two minutes to play in the quarter.
• The Spartans tied it up at 38-38 then held a 41-38 lead with one minute to play, but Alvernia tied it again at 41-41 on a 3-pointer from Poole. The game went to the final ten minutes tied at 41-41.
• The Spartans led 48-45 through the opening three minutes of the quarter before both teams went scoreless for nearly two and a half minutes.
• A stepback jumper from O'Brien got Alvernia back on track and tied the game at 48-48 with 4:56 to play while York struggled to make a basket. Alvernia then took the lead for good on a made free throw from Burke to make it a 49-48 game with 3:24 to play.
• While Alverina's offense could not take full advantage of the Spartan's scoring struggles, the Golden Wolves defense held the Spartans without a field goal for six and a half minutes. And, a pair of made layups with two minutes to play from Bradford and Burke gave Alvernia some late breathing room, 53-48.
• A layup and an and-one free throw from Adams got the Spartans back on the board with a minute to play, but it was too little too late for the Spartan offense. 
• Etchison, O'Brien, and Bradford each made a pair of free throws in the final 25 seconds to secure the 59-51 win for the Golden Wolves.

Inside the Box Score

• Jennah DeGout led Alvernia with a 17 point, 14 rebound double-double. It marks her third straight game with a double-double.
• Olivia Burke finished with 15 points and Kylie Bradford also recorded a 10 point, 11 rebound double-double.
• Alvernia hammered the inside shot and outscored York 36-14 in the paint, The Golden Wolves also had 15 points off turnovers and 12 points on the fastbreak compared to York's four.

Up Next

• Alvernia continues on with MAC Commonwealth play on Saturday as the Golden Wolves make the short trip to Albright to take on the Lions. Alvernia has won the last three matchups with the Lions dating back to February 22, 2023. The Lions enter Saturday with a 6-5 record overall. Albright dropped its MAC Commonwealth opener earlier this evening to Messiah, 75-53.