ALFRED, NY - The Villa Maria Vikings broke a three-quarter tie, outscoring the Alfred State Pioneers by 10 in the final quarter to pick up a 66-56 road win on Wednesday night at the Orvis Activities Center.

Junior forward Shaquana Owens (Buffalo, NY/Tapestry Charter) led all scorers with 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.  She recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.  She also added six assists, five steals and a block.

Villa led by five after the first quarter and eight at halftime but Alfred State held the Vikings to just 12 third quarter points to erase the deficit.  Villa opened the fourth on a 9-0 run, forcing an Alfred State timeout and shutting the door on a complete comeback.  Sophomore Nina Cray (Wheatland, IA/Calamus-Wheatland), who finished with her first double-double of the year, finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds.  She also finished with six steals.

Villa improved to 3-1 on the season and have now won two straight games, while Alfred State dropped it's season opener to fall to 0-1.

BOX SCORE
Villa Maria Vikings (3-1, 1-1 NIAC)                      32 - 34 -- 66
Alfred State Pioneers (0-1)                                  24 - 32 -- 56

INSIDE THE BOX
* Villa finished with 14 assists on 26 made baskets
* Villa held Alfred State to just 3-32 from beyond the arc
* Villa was 8-14 from beyond the arc
* Sophomore Bianca Brown (Niagara Falls, NY/Jamestown Community College) chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, playing all but one minute
* Villa won the rebounding battle 54-53
* Alfred State's Janae Gibson scored 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds
* Villa forced 18 turnovers and overcame 25

WHAT THEY SAID
HC Al Monaco "This is a good road win for us and good start to a tough week for us.  Shaquana played well as she usually does, but we also got great contributions from Nina, and our bench came through for us as well."

UP NEXT
Villa will now be taking part in the Betty Abgott Invitational hosted by Buffalo State on the 17th and 18th. They will take on Buffalo State on Friday at 3 p.m. before playing the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

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