Brandywine Falls In Final United East Contest

LA PLUME, Pa. – The Penn State Brandywine women's basketball team held a seven-point lead during the second half, but Keystone rallied for a 54-45 victory during the Lions' United East Conference finale on Saturday afternoon.

Brandywine scored the final six points of the opening quarter to lead 12-10 through 10 minutes.

Trinell Watson (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) and Sierra Diawara (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) notched back-to-back baskets to begin the second period as the Lions' lead grew to six. Diawara canned a three-pointer at the 7:50 mark to give the Lions their largest edge of the afternoon at 19-11, but those would be Brandywine's final points for more than four minutes as the Giants rallied to tie the count at 19-all.

Keystone outscored Brandywine 15-5 overall during the final seven minutes of the half and held a 26-24 advantage at intermission; however, the Lions rallied in the third quarter, using a 10-2 surge spanning three minutes to vault back in front. Five Lions contributed points during the run, including Kiara Koger (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti), whose layup made the score 37-30 with 4:04 to go in the stanza.

Brandywine clung to a three-point lead through three quarters, but the final period belonged to Keystone as the Giants outscored the Lions 16-4. The hosts took the lead by scoring the first seven points of the quarter and pulled away late by knocking down six free throws.

Diawara knocked down four triples and led the Lions in scoring with 14 points. She added nine rebounds, while Watson pulled in a team-best 14 boards and netted eight points. Jazmyn Kemp (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) added 10 rebounds and Anaiyah Allen (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner) recorded eight points.

Brandywine held a commanding 58-33 edge on the boards, but was limited to 31 percent shooting, while committing 28 turnovers, 10 of which came during the final 10 minutes.

Brandywine will close out the regular season Monday at Division II Wilmington University at 6:00 PM.