WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the blink of an eye the No. 18 Gallaudet University women's basketball team saw its 11-point lead vanish to just two with 10 minutes left in Wednesday night's North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) game against Penn St.-Berks at the Field House. The visiting Nittany Lions used a 9-0 run to get back into the game and trim the Bison lead to 44-42. A quick GU timeout turned into a 10-1 run and helped propel the undefeated Bison to a 70-57 victory.

Gallaudet (20-0, 17-0 NEAC) continues its best start and longest winning streak in program history as it reached 20 wins in a season for only the third-time ever. GU last recorded 20 wins in 1998-99 when the Bison won a school record 24 games. The Bison have won 13 games at home dating back to last season.

All-American senior forward/center Easter Faafiti (Pittsburg, Calif.) led the Bison with 26 points, 17 rebounds, seven steals and five assists. Her point, rebound and steal totals were all game-high marks. Faafiti scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half alone. Her double-double is her 13th in a row, 15th overall this season, and 31st in a Gallaudet uniform in two seasons.

Faafiti wasn't the only Bison to record a double-double as freshman forward Tandy Lewis (Frederick, Md.) had a career game as she scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Both totals are career highs. The double-double is the first in Lewis' career at Gallaudet. Junior guard Andrea Amati (Frederick, Md.) scored nine points in the win. Freshman guard Stephanie Weiss (Wellington, Fla.) had a game-high six assists as she chipped in seven points. Fellow freshman guard Britny Latham (Cleveland, Tenn.) returned to action for the first time in nearly a month and scored six points.

GU jumped out to a 15-0 lead over Penn St.-Berks (11-10, 10-8) to begin the game. The Nittany Lions scored their first bucket on a shot made by Steph Binder (eight points) at the 11:56 mark in the first half. The Bison took a 30-21 lead into the half.

Penn St.-Berks was led offensively by guards Emily Pufnock (15 points) and Shakiyla Stone (13 points) as the pair both hit three 3-pointers. The Nittany Lions also scored 22 points off the 28 Bison turnovers.

Gallaudet shot a blistering 53.7 percent (29-for-54) from the field, the second highest field goal percentage this season since the first game of the year. The Bison also outscored the Nittany Lions 40-26 in the paint and held a 44-24 rebound advantage. GU sweeps the season series with Penn St.-Berks as the Bison won 67-51 back on December 19.

GU will next host Penn St.-Harrisburg (15-6, 14-4) on Saturday, February 12, at 1 p.m.