SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Junior Becca Painter (Elverson, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) scored a career-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers in as many attempts, as she helped lift the Lycoming College women's basketball team separate from Susquehanna University in the fourth quarter for an 85-75 non-conference win at O.W. Houts Gymnasium on Sunday, Nov. 26.
 
Painter's career high in points were accompanied by four assists and three rebounds, as she was one of four Warriors (4-1) to finish in double figures. Senior Shelby Mueller (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) led the team with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for her second double-double of the year, while sophomore Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) added 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. Sophomore Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.
 
A run of nine straight points midway through the fourth quarter helped Lycoming pull away from Susquehanna (2-1), as Painter and sophomore Morgan Mader (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) each hit long 3-pointers before Kline found senior Hailey Fricke (Denver, Pa./Garden Spot) in transition. Fricke hit a layup as she was fouled and she hit the free throw to make it 72-60 with 6:14 left.
 
An 11-4 run helped Susquehanna close within five points with 3:12 left, but Painter responded again with a 3-pointer starting a run of seven straight Warrior points to make it 83-71 with 1:52 left. The River Hawks could get no closer than eight from there.
 
Up by six at halftime, the Warriors found themselves back on their heels early in the third quarter, as a 3-pointer from Bailey Trell cut the lead to a point with 7:30 left in the period. The Warriors got the next bucket to keep the lead, but the River Hawks were able to stay within four points until a pair of 3-pointers, the second from Erin McQuillen with 2:06 left tied the game at 51.
 
Painter responded with a  3-pointer from the right corner, but Susquehanna hit a layup and had a chance to take the lead, but Kline stepped into a passing lane for a steal and she ran the length of the court and was fouled for an old-fashioned 3-point play to make it 57-53 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Warriors scored on their first two possessions to take a 6-3 lead, but the River Hawks tied the game at six with a 3-pointer from Rachel Sweger, the second of four ties before the River Hawks took the lead off a layup from Megan McFadden with 3:41 left in the opening quarter. After Susquehanna took a four-point lead with 1:16 left, the Warriors responded with six straight points, with a steal from Mader leading to a layup from McFadden to tie the game and a jumper from Kline giving Lycoming a 23-21 lead heading into the second period.
 
Lycoming kept the momentum rolling in the second quarter, using a 14-4 run that occupied the first six minutes of the period to take a 37-25 lead after a 3-pointer from Kline, who led the run with eight points. The River Hawks closed within three with a run of nine straight points, but Lycoming scored the last three points of the half to take a 40-34 lead into the break.
 
The Warriors shot 49 percent from the field, hitting 32-of-65, and added a 9-of-19 (47 percent) from 3-point range.
 
Tess Nichols led the River Hawks with 20 points and Megan McFadden had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Both Rachel Sweger and Bailey Trell had 12 points, as Susquehanna shot 39 percent (27-of-70) from the field.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Wednesday, Nov. 29, when they host 21^st-ranked Messiah College in an important MAC Commonwealth opener at 8 p.m. in Lamade Gym.