Altoona, Pa., Jan. 17, 2003 --

State College defeated Altoona 54-44 in a league game that gave the Lady Little Lions a 4-0 sweep of its peers in the AAAA Division.

With the win, State College also put itself in a position to play all of its league opponents in the second cycle at home.

The Lady Little Lions established a slight lead early in the game and fought to maintain it through the end of the fourth quarter, eventually reestablishing the 10-point final margin.

"I think we were a little on-edge the whole time," State College coach Bethany Irwin said. "We just had to relax a little bit, enjoy the atmosphere and just take care of the ball."

Senior Nicole Scipione reached a double-double, her first of the season, by contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Senior Suzy Carlton, who made two free throws in the last 11 seconds in a three-point win at Central Mountain Tuesday, provided more of the same at Altoona. Carlson made five of six from the free-throw line in the final 46 seconds, stretching the lead and finishing with 13 points.

Altoona trailed 11-8 in the first period and was down 27-15 by halftime. But the Lady Lions continued to press and hassle from baseline to baseline.

The Lady Lions closed the gap to just three points in the third period but the Lady Little Lions made a closing run to hold a 35-27 advantage going into the final eight minutes.

Irwin said that having the lead was definitely an advantage during the last minutes of the game. With the clock ticking away, Altoona had no time-outs remaining which forced the Lady Lions to foul and the steady Carlson nailed the door shut from the charity stripe.

"I have confidence in our kids," Irwin said. "We just needed to settle down."

State College took advantage of its inside game with junior Katlyn Stupar adding eight rebounds to Scipione's 11.

Altoona's Jenna Burkett and Kristi Little each had 11 points with a combined total of five three-pointers.

State College improved to 12-1 and will be at home hosting Sterling, N.J., High School Saturday afternoon.

State College's J.V. team continued its undefeated streak which now stands at 70 games with a 35-23 victory over Altoona. Jessie Serafin led the Lady Little Lions with 11 points, followed closely by Kelly Ashcraft with 10 points.