Lewistown, Pa., Feb. 7, 2003 -- Two of the top teams in the Mountain High League kept fans on the edge of their seats until quad-A leader State College (19-2) used a seven-point spurt to deny AAA leader Lewistown 79-63 on the Panthers' home court.

After Lewistown's Maddie Runk put down back-to-back threes over a 14-second flurry that both ended and opened the fourth period, the Panthers drew to within three points (58-55) on a pair of free throws by Alicia Espigh.

State College refused to blink as Liz Miller fed Katlyn Stupar for a layup then Stupar picked a loose ball and fed Liz Gabrielle for two. Nicole Scipione gave the ball back to State College by accepting a charge and Sarah O'Shea canned a three from downtown to put the Little Lady Lions back up by 10 at 65-55. The entire sequence took 71 seconds

Lewistown, 19-4, trailed 20-15 after the first quarter and was behind 42-34 at intermission.

The Panthers did take control underneath converting offensive rebounds into putbacks and adding 14 points from free throws in the second quarter when State College fouls put Lewistown in the bonus for the last 6:44 of the half.

The Little Lady Lions countered with balanced scoring including four bench points apiece from Liz Miller and Carly Onkotz.

"We needed to deny easy shots and putbacks," State College coach Bethany Irwin said. "I think the kids did a much better job in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter."

The Panthers' third quarter offense switched back and forth between Espigh (seven points) and Andrea Kauffman (six points) before Runk hit her trey at the buzzer.

Suzy Carlson provided four points from the free throw line before Scipione scored six straight on twos and Gabrielle bombed in a pair from behind the arc to give State College a 58-50 advantage.

Runk again hit from downtown to start the final period and Espigh's two free throws were a result of Carlson's foul, her fourth of the game.

With Carlson forced to sit, Liz Miller came back in and fed a wide-open Stupar for a layup that turned the tide in the Lions' favor.

Lewistown's offense was silent for the next three minutes while State College was building back a 12-point lead.

The Lions needed only to run out the clock over the final three minutes dodging Lewistown defenders until the Panthers had to foul. Carlson and Scipione were most comfortable at the stripe making three of four and Onkotz stole a Lewistown pass which she turned into a layup for the final 79-63 margin.

Scipione and O'Shea each scored 19 points and Carlson had 13 follwed by Gabrielle with 12 points for State College. Runk paced the Panthers with a game-high 21 points followed by Kauffman with 16 and Espigh with 15.

"This is the kind of game you need at the end of the season," Irwin said.

Irwin and company will have little time to savor the victory with Upper Merion visiting tomorrow night when State College will honor seniors Carlson, Gabrielle, Scipione and Katie Pierce.

There will be no rest for the weary JV either after a hard-fought 54-42 victory over Lewistown's junior varsity. Jessie Serafin was the leading scorer with 18 points and the double-dipping Onkotz added 17 points in that game, the JV's 19th straight win this season and the program's 78th in a row.