MEDIA, Pa.- The Immaculata women's basketball team (3-3) used a stifling defensive effort, holding Penn State-Brandywine to just 13 made shots all day, and carried that to a 57-36 victory over the Nittany Lions, their third win in their last four contests.
 
Sophomore Theresa Kearney led the Macs with 16 points, junior Annie Kohutka reached double figures with 10 points, and sophomore Brielle Rigo had the first double-double of her career with 13 points and 10 boards in just 19 minutes of work.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Mighty Mac defense was outstanding to start, allowing just one made field goal in the first quarter and holding the Nittany Lions to four points
-Following two early free throws by the Nittany Lions, the Macs knocked down a three pointer by sophomore Shannon Kelly and a traditional three-point play by Kearney to take a 6-2 lead
-Brandywine then made their only field goal of the quarter and the Macs went on to score the final nine points of the period on a bucket by Kearney and seven straight from Rigo off the bench for a 15-4 lead after one
-The run got up to 11-0 on a pair of free throws by senior Amber Ballinger to make it 17-4, but Brandywine twice made it a nine point game in the period
-Leading 21-12 with 1:56 to go before the break, the Macs scored the final five on a pair of free throws by Kearney and a made jumper by Rigo to make it 25-12 at the half
-The Mighty Macs didn't stop as they put out an 8-0 run, punctuated by a triple from Kearney to make it 40-19 less than three minutes before the end of the third.  The Macs took a 15 point lead to the fourth
-To put the game away, Kohtuka scored the first six of the period and IU never looked back
 
TEAM COMPARSION
-The Macs were 21-of-55 (38%) on their end of the floor, but held the Nittany Lions to 13-of-47 (27.7%) shooting, which keyed their victory.
-The Macs were 4-of-20 (20%) from deep, and Penn State-Brandywine was just 1-of-7
-The Nittany Lions struggled from the free throw line as well at 9-for-20, while the Macs were 11-for-16
-The teams were close in turnovers with IU forcing 21 turnovers and giving it up 19 times
 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: Kearney 16, Rigo 13, Kohutka 10
-Rebounds: Rigo 10, Kearney 6, Ayoub 5, Ballinger 5
-Assists: Ricker 4, Kohutka 3
-Steals: Ballinger 3, Kearney 2
 
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs will host Moravian at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in their final tune up before their first Atlantic East game next Saturday.