Lady Crusaders Fight Hard to Gain Victory in First Home Game

The Lady Crusaders had their home opener last Thursday when they played host to USCAA opponent Central Penn College. After playing a grueling first couple of weeks which included 6 games, the women got to play in front of their own Christendom Crazies. The Lady Crusaders started 3 freshmen including Kate Willson who started her first game for the Crusaders.

The Knights of Central Penn opened the game with a strong push and took a lead early in the first quarter. Sophomore Danielle Corcoran kept the Crusaders close with 5 early points including one from 3 point land. The 2^nd quarter saw the Knights clinging to a close lead as the Lady Crusaders adjusted to the tightly called game by the officials and also the energy from the fans. Bryn Burgess made her impact felt right away with a couple of steals and setting up her teammates for easy buckets.

From the start of the 2^nd half it was a very different game as the home Christendom ratcheted up the defensive effort and began hitting shots that weren’t falling in the first half. Led by a couple of three pointers from Liz Ford and the spark from freshman Courtney Hahn off the bench, the Lady Crusaders gradually took over the game and grew the lead up to 12 points by early in the 4^th quarter. Freshman newcomer Georgie Messing continued her strong play with rebounds and steals and finished with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Another new addition, Ann Pennefather, also played solid minutes contributing on the defensive end and grabbing some important rebounds. Despite Bryn Burgess and Danielle Corcoran fouling out mid-way through the fourth quarter the Lady Crusaders held on and finished with a strong 7 point victory 49-42. Liz Ford finished with a double-double recording 14 points and 10 rebounds while Bryn Burgess added 9 points and 10 rebounds. The team is off for Thanksgiving break before playing their final 2 games of the season against MACU and Penn State Mont Alto.