Fredonia State Stings Behrend in Second Half

ERIE, Pa. – The Fredonia State women's basketball team doubled their offensive output in the second half, turning a three-point lead into a 20-point advantage to defeat Penn State Behrend 67-44 in non-conference action on Saturday.

Becky Hebert kept up her team-leading 20-point average with a game-high 21 points. Hebert, who did not score her first field goal until the 4:38 mark of the first half, went 8-for-13 from the floor in the second half to help the Blue Devils (4-1) post their fifth win over the Lions (1-3) in the last six meetings.

For the fourth straight game, Ally Burke (Erie, PA/Mercyhurst) led Behrend in scoring with 17 points and five rebounds. Only four other players scored for the Lions, including Aly Eagle (Harmony, PA/Seneca Valley) who dropped nine points.

The Lions knocked in four out of their eight field goals in the first 14 minutes, while holding Fredonia State to just three free throws for an 11-3 lead with 13:52 remaining in the opening half. Sabrina Macaulay drove in for the layup at 13:03 to score the Blue Devils first field goal.

From there, Fredonia State drained five straight baskets to take a two-point lead at 15-13 lead. The Blue Devils kept the steady lead and went into the locker rooms with a 24-21 edge over Behrend.

Eagle made it a one-point game to start the second half with back-to-back layups (26-25), but Fredonia State used a 13-2 run thanks to nine points from Hebert to push the lead to 39-27. The Blue Devils never backed down, making seven consecutive buckets before missing at the 7:10 mark for a 53-35 advantage.

The Lions, who entered the game averaging 70.7 points, were held to just 44. The Blue Devils scored 14 points of their 43 points off turnovers in the second half to pick up the non-conference victory.

Julia Myers (Edinboro, PA/General McLane) pulled down a team-best nine rebounds to go with seven points.

Behrend returns to action on Wednesday against Pitt-Bradford. Game time is 6 p.m.