WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Freshman Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) posted 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and four more Lycoming College women's basketball players finished in double figures as Lycoming withstood a third-quarter rally from Hiram College to post an 82-70 win in the opening round of the Hoops for Hounds Tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at Lamade Gym.
 
The Warriors (8-3 overall) advance to the Hoops for Hounds Tournament championship game for the eighth time in 11 years and the fourth year in a row, where they will face William Paterson, 72-64 winners over Rosemont in the other opening round game. Hiram (10-3 overall) will face Rosemont (1-8 overall) in the consolation game at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29, before Lycoming faces William Paterson (6-5 overall) in the championship at 2 p.m. in Lamade Gym.
 
Freshman Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) posted 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals to tie for the team lead in points with junior Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford), who also added five rebounds. Both senior Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) and sophomore Jenn Grove (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) contributed 10 points, with Calella adding three assists. Junior Haley Sipple (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) added nine points and three steals.
 
After falling behind by 12 points in the first quarter, the Terriers worked over the next quarter and a half to get back into the game, finally tying the game at 46 with 3:47 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Allison Vannoy. The Terriers weren't able to get the lead, though, and moments later, Calella found freshman Morgan Mader (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) for a transition layup to start a run of five straight points.
 
Hiram never tied the game again, and McFadden started a run of seven straight points by the Warriors to open the fourth quarter with a huge 3-pointer before Sipple finished it with a layup to give Lycoming a 60-50 lead. Hiram again cut the lead to four with 5:13 left at 63-59, but Lycoming responded with three straight buckets and the Terriers weren't able to close within seven the rest of the way.
 
Lycoming, meanwhile, closed the game by hitting 16-of-22 free throws in the fourth quarter, helping it cross 80 points for the second straight game and the fourth time this season.
 
The Warriors jumped out to a seven-point lead in the game's first three minutes, thanks to the play of Kline, who provided two assists and three points during a 9-2 run. The Warriors continued to pressure in the quarter, with a 3-pointer from Mader giving the team a 17-5 lead with 2:48 left and a jumper in the paint by McFadden sent the team into the second quarter with a 21-11 lead.
 
The Terriers fought the lead down to three points midway through the second quarter at 25-22, thanks to an 11-4 run to open the quarter, but Kline hit a fastbreak bucket and McFadden hit a pair of jumpers in the next 70 seconds to get the lead to nine at 31-22. The Terriers worked again to cut the lead down to five points by the break, with a layup by Kayla Yost with 29 seconds left making it 35-30.
 
After shooting 57 percent in the first quarter to build the 10-point lead, the Warriors shot 32 percent in the second quarter, while Hiram improved from 25 percent to 44.
 
Hiram was led by 17 points from Mercedes Jones, while Kayla Yost added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kaylee Shockey notched 16 points, four assists, four blocks and five rebounds and Vannoy had 15 points.