ERIA, Pa. – The Otterbein women's basketball team fought back to salvage a split at the Penn State Behrend Tip-Off Tournament Saturday afternoon, taking down Salisbury after initially falling to the host Lions.

The Cardinals, 1-1 to launch the season, landed junior point guard Katie McCrary on the All-Tournament Team as a result of her combined performance across the two days.

PSU-BEHREND Recap (L 80-67):

The Cards held a 14-10 lead after one quarter on Friday night… but the host school kicked into gear from that point forward by scoring 23, 26 and 21 over the next three frames respectively.

Despite that scoring outburst from the Lions, Otterbein still only trailed 59-57 after buckets from Natalie Allen and McCrary to begin the fourth. Behrend regrouped to embark on a difference-making run after that, using an 11-0 stretch over the next few minutes to create separation.

McCrary had 16 points and seven assists to pace the Cardinals, who also got 13 from both Allen (college debut) and Jenna Hoschouer off the bench. Hoschouer, a fifth-year senior, also snagged a career-high 14 rebounds that included seven on the offensive end.

Behrend shot 47 percent for the game compared to just 36 percent on Otterbein's side. The game featured a combined 39 turnovers.

SALISBURY RECAP (W 77-68):

In a bit of a flipped script, the Cardinals faced some early adversity this time around after the Seagulls opened a 24-14 lead after the first quarter. Otterbein turned the tables back with a strong defensive effort in the second frame, holding Salisbury to just six points on 3-of-12 shooting to get back within a possession (30-28) at intermission.

Both sides turned up the tempo with big third quarter, as Otterbein held a mild 26-22 scoring edge to get back in front by two points (54-52) with just 10 minutes to play. The Cards shot 9 of 11 from the floor in that third period.

Neither team scored much to begin the fourth, but the Cards stayed working and eventually found a seven-point cushion on a jumper from transfer Maizie King at the halfway point. The Seagulls trimmed that deficit to five on a few occasions in the final minute, but Otterbein went a smooth 9 for 10 at the charity stripe to put the game away.

McCrary dropped 24 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting, which also included a dozen makes at the free-throw line. Senior Natalie Galaida caught fire off the bench to score a career-high 20 in just 22 minutes, going 75 percent from the floor and nailing four trifectas.

Allen scored in double figures again with 11 while King led all players with nine boards. The Cards held a 23-11 margin in points off turnovers.

UP NEXT:

Otterbein will get back to practice over the middle of next week before traveling to the Trine Classic, with games against Olivet and the host Thunder on tap.