Box Score

READING, Pa. – All five starters scored in double figures as Immaculata University defeated Penn State Berks, 88-73, in non-conference women's basketball action Wednesday night.
 
Brittany Merkle and Adriana Sciascia led all scorers with 19 points each. Merkle paced the Mighty Macs on the boards with nine rebounds. Sciascia recorded team highs in both assists (7) and steals (7) while grabbing six rebounds.
 
Sara Smith added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Alison Zimny finished with 13 points and five assists, while Mackie Fitzgerald rounded out the starters with 11 points, seven assists and three steals.
 
As a team, Immaculata (2-0) shot 50.8 percent (32-63) from the field, including a 7-for-17 (41.2%) effort from three-point range. The Mighty Macs also knocked down 17 of 21 free throws (81.0%).
 
Penn State Berks (0-3) scored the contest's opening basket and it would be the hosts only lead of the game. Merkle scored the Mighty Macs first bucket 53 seconds into the game to tie the score (2-2), and Immaculata ended up scoring 11-straight points for an 11-2 advantage by the 17:14 mark of the opening stanza.
 
Immaculata extended its lead to double figures (18-8) with 13:13 remaining in the first half, and the Mighty Macs pushed that lead to as many as 18 (34-16) with 7:04 left in the half before the Nittany Lions made a run.
 
Penn State Berks was able to trim Immaculata's edge to seven points, 36-29, with 1:45 left in the opening half. However, the Mighty Macs were able to score nine points during the final minute of the half to extend their lead to 45-33 at halftime.
 
It took Penn State Berks just over four minutes in the second half to cut its deficit back to single digits (54-46), but that would be the only single-digit lead for Immaculata the rest of the way.
 
Immaculata led by as many as 17 (76-59) with 6:05 to play in the game, and Penn State Berks got no closer than 10 (80-70) with 2:08 remaining.
 
Immaculata looks for its third win this season on Saturday when the Mighty Macs travel to DeSales at 1 p.m.