FINAL SCORE: Apprentice School 82, PSU Beaver 78

RECORDS: Apprentice School 1-1, PSU Beaver 0-3

LOCATION: Penn State Beaver Fieldhouse/Monaca, Pa.

IN BRIEF: The Builders had 5 players score in double-digits, but neither team could break open the score in the second half. In overtime, Courtney White netted a 3-pointer and the Builders shot 3-of-4 from the free-throw line to hold off the Lady Lions and get the W.

ON THE COURT

• The Apprentice School opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer from White, but PSU Beaver answered with a 3-pointer of its own. The score ignited a 15-2 run by the Lady Lions, who led 15-5 with 2:06 to play in the opening quarter. The Builders would score 5 points and allow a free throw to end the first quarter down 16-10.
• In the second quarter, the Builders came back to tie the game at 22-22 and then again at 25-25. With 3 minutes to play until halftime, the Apprentice School took a slim 4-point lead as Quanisha Bruce scored and then made a pair of free throws. That lead evaporated, though, as Miranda Davis sunk her free throw and Khalia Adams was good from 3-point range with :12 left on the clock. The Builders put up a late shot, but the miss meant a 31-31 tie at the break. Bruce was near-perfect, making 4-of-5 shots from the field and both of her free throws to score 10 points.
• Neither team could find separation in a 3rd quarter that saw 8 lead changes. Kelsey Daniels was 3-of-4 from the field with 6 points, but Morgan Kurtz matched her effort with 2-of-5 shooting and a pair of free throws. Daniels' bucket at 1:18 put the Builders up 49-46, but the Lady Lions made a pair of shots to close out the quarter with a 50-49 advantage.
• An Ylexzis Traeger free throw tied the score at 52-52 early in the 4th, but PSU-Beaver jumped ahead to 59-53 at the 7:56 mark. White's 3-pointer at 6:21 brought the Builders within a point at 59-60, but again the Lady Lions gave themselves some cushion. It wasn't until a pair of Traeger buckets to cap off a 7-2 run that the Apprentice School took control, 68-67.
• Kenya Wilkerson sunk both of her free throws at 2:08 to push the Builder lead to 70-67, but PSU-Beaver was determined to hang in the fight. The Lady Lions made three straight free throws to tie the game at 70-70. With :10 to play, Wilkerson found herself at the line and converted both of her attempts as the Apprentice School looked to come away with its first win. Unfortunately, the Builders sent Kurtz to the line and she would force extra time.
• White made an early overtime statement with her 4th 3-pointer of the game. A pair of Kurtz free throws made things interesting as the Builder lead shrunk to 77-76 with 3:12 remaining. However, a bucket from Bruce and clutch shooting at the charity stripe by Traeger and Wilkerson proved too much for PSU-Beaver.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

• Five Lady Builders reached double-digit scoring: Wilkerson led the team with 16 points, followed by White and Yaeger with 15 points each, Bruce with 14 points, and Daniels with 10 points. Bruce added 11 boards to earn the double-double.
• The Apprentice School shot 36.8% (28-of-76) from the field, 30.8% (4-of-13) from 3-point range, and 68.8% (22-of-32) from the free-throw line.
• The Lady Builders led in rebounds (48-41), assists (18-14), points in the paint (10-6), and bench points (35-19).
• The game featured 9 ties and 12 lead changes.

NEXT UP

The Lady Builders are on the road Wednesday, November 18th as they travel to Petersburg, Va. to take on the Trojans of Virginia State University. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.