READING, Pa. – A dominating fourth-quarter performance on a night when four Lycoming College women's basketball players finished in double figures was enough to lift the team to its second straight win, 70-52, over Alvernia University, in MAC Commonwealth action on Wednesday night, Feb. 1, at Jack McCloskey Court.
 
The Warriors (13-7 overall, 7-5 MAC Commonwealth) clinched their fourth straight winning season with a powerful fourth quarter in which the team outscored the Crusaders (2-18 overall, 2-9 MAC Commonwealth), 19-3, to break open a two-point game heading into the quarter. Lycoming hit 8-of-15 from the floor, led by six points from junior Haley Sipple (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester), while Alvernia hit just 1-of-10 from the floor in the final 10 minutes and were forced into three turnovers.
 
Junior Shelby Mueller (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year to become the 15^th player in school history to reach 800 career points. She also had three blocks and three steals. Freshman Akilah McFadden (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) added 16 points, three assists and three steals, Sipple finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and freshman Kayla Kline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) added 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
 
Lycoming began to break open the game with a run of 15 straight points that lasted 6:46 in the fourth quarter after Alvernia closed within 55-51. Sipple scored six points during the run and senior Nicole Calella (Sandyston, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) added four points and an assist. A second-chance layup from Sipple with 1:02 left gave Lycoming a 70-51 lead, its largest of the game, before a free throw from Alvernia's Maya Cooper made up the final margin.
 
The Warriors and Crusaders fought through two ties and four lead changes in the first quarter, with neither team leading by more than four points. Lycoming took that advantage with an 11-4 run that was capped on a 3-pointer from freshman Morgan Mader (Cresco, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) with 3-pointer to make it 15-11 with 3:02 left. The Crusaders rallied back with five straight points to take the lead before Kline gave Lycoming a 17-16 advantage at the end of the quarter with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left.
 
The teams fought through two more ties and six lead changes in the second quarter, with the Warriors trying to get separation, but Alvernia came back each time. However, after the Crusaders took a 29-28 lead after a Maya Cooper 3-pointer, the Warriors went on a 9-2 run capped on a 3-pointer from McFadden to make it 37-31 with 2:01 left before the Crusaders hit two buckets to head into halftime down by two points.
 
Lycoming didn't relinquish the lead in the third quarter, but Alvernia also didn't let Lycoming take a more than six-point lead in the quarter. Lycoming took a five-point lead three times in the quarter with a layup by Sipple with 41 seconds left giving Lycoming a 51-46 lead, but Alvernia closed the period with three points to cut the Lycoming advantage to 51-49.
 
Four Crusaders finished in double figures, led by 11 points from Cooper and Miranda Hoover. Hoover also added 10 rebounds and Cooper had five assists and two steals. Kierstan Ingram and Liz Andrefski each added 10 points.
 
Calella added six points, six assists, five assists and five steals for the Warriors and Mader added five points and two steals.
 
The Warriors will hit the road once again on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they head to Arcadia University to wrap up a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader, playing at 3 p.m. after the men's teams tip at 1 p.m.