Strong Second Half Leads Berks to Third Straight Win

Penn State Berks (11-8) used a solid second half to cruise to their third consecutive victory defeating Wilson College 85-54 on Wednesday evening in Chambersburg.

The game got off to a slow start as the teams played to a 9-9 tie over the first six minutes of play.  Wilson held the advantage for most of the first 20 minutes of play until Courtney Bailey (Senior/Dauphin Co. Vo-Tech) connected on two from the foul line to give Berks a 25-24 advantage.  The host Phoenix grabbed the lead one last time on a Tara Fields jumper with 2:19 remaining in the first half.  Steph Binder (Junior/Wilson) scored at the 1:42 mark to give Berks the lead and went into halftime up 34-30.

The Nittany Lions wasted no time in the second half putting the game away.  They opened up the half with a 15-6 run over the opening 5 minutes to build a 12 point advantage.  Wilson did not have an answer for the run as they were outscored in the second half 51-24 and eventually fell 85-54.  Berks used a solid defensive effort forcing the Phoenix into 36 turnovers for the game. 

Steph Binder led the way for Berks finishing with 21 points on 7-20 shooting.  Courtney Bailey contributed a double double with 20 points while grabbing a game high 17 rebounds.  Jasmine Harris-Kane (Junior/Simon Gratz) had a solid all around performance with 13 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds in the win. 

Tara Fields led the Phoenix with a game high 32 points on 10-16 shooting including 11-12 from the charity stripe. 

The women will return to action Saturday when they host Penn State Abington at 1pm in the Beaver Community Center.