State College, Pa., Feb. 4, 2003 -- The Lady Little Lions bounced back from a defeat Friday at Oakland Catholic with a 76-56 win over Central Mountain at home.

Suzy Carlson led in scoring for State College, now 18-2, as one of five starters who finished the game in double digits. Nicole Scipione and Katlyn Stupar each added 14 points to Carlson's 16, while Liz Gabrielle scored 12 points and Sarah O'Shea contributed 10.

Stupar finished the game just shy of a double-double, hauling in eight defensive rebounds.

The Lady Little Lions approached the Lady Wildcats cautiously during the opening period, leading by only two (18-16) at the quarter break.

"They were very hesitant in the first couple minutes," State College coach Bethany Irwin said. "It was like nobody wanted to shoot the thing."

State College quickly changed the dynamic of the game with a 16-point run at the start of the second quarter, keeping the Lady Wildcats scoreless for almost five minutes.

Carly Onkotz jumped in with two buckets and a pair of free throws before a four-point play by Scipione marked the first of five straight three-pointers, two from O'Shea and one each from Stupar and Gabrielle.

Leading 46-26 at the half, the Lady Little Lions slowed down in the third period and allowed Lady Wildcats Susie Dent, Julie Dwyer, Missy Blazina and Lindsay Hollobaugh to narrow Central Mountain's deficit to just 11 points (55-44) going into the final eight minutes.

State College switched gears and outscored Central Mountain 21-12 in the last quarter, holding the Lady Wildcats to six points for half of the period.

Hollobaugh added six of her game-high 18 points in the last four minutes, but the Lady Little Lions couldn't be caught.

"There was definitely a little lull in the third quarter, but they finished the game strong," Irwin said. "I'm happy with that."

State College's J.V. team bumped its winning streak up to 77 games, defeating Central Mountain 76-30. Kelsey Ream led in scoring for the Lady Little Lions with 12 points, while Kelly Irish finished the game with 10.

The Lady Little Lions are back in action Friday at Lewistown then entertain Upper Merion Saturday afternoon.

State College has completed the home and home regular season games scheduled with Quad-A opponents in the Mountain High League, sweeping Altoona, Hollidaysburg and now Central Mountain in the large school division.