WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University women's basketball team collected its first home victory of the season on Wednesday night, earning the conference opener over Penn State University-Berks, 78-63.

Closing out their three-game homestand, the Bison (2-3, 1-0 NEAC) never trailed against the Nittany Lions (2-3, 0-1 NEAC) in the tilt in the Field House on Padden Court, busting out to a comfortable 27-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Penn St.-Berks closed back in with a 30-point second quarter to trail by eight at the half, 41-33, but that's as close as it would get to the hot-handed Bison.

Shooting 45.6 percent from the floor as a team, the defense was just as impressive for Gallaudet. Of the 27 turnovers by the Lions, the Bison tallied 18 steals lead by junior forward Hannah Neild (Litchfield, N.H.) and freshman guard Emelia Beldon (Frederick, Md.) with four and seven, respectively. 

Junior guard Sabina Shysh (Tucson, Ariz.) paced Gallaudet for the evening with her second double-double of the season, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jakkisha Smith (Dallas, Texas) posted a team-high 19 points for the night, while Neild added 18 to go along with nine rebounds.

Penn St.-Berks' Melissa Martin registered a game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers.

BISON TRACKS

• Senior forward Kelsey Hudson (Blissfield, Mich.) pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds
• Gallaudet held a 45-43 edge on the glass over the Lions
• Eight different Bison contributed in scoring, while nine registered a statistic
• Shysh's other double-double came two games ago against Washington and Lee University
• The Bison shot 45.6 percent from the floor, over 14-percent better than Penn St.-Berks (31.1 percent)

UP NEXT
Gallaudet hits the road to open the month of December this Saturday at St. Elizabeth for another NEAC matchup at 2 p.m.