The Berkeley College women's basketball team opened up its 2015-2016 season on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Nittany Lions of Penn State Brandywine by a score of 76-51 in a contest that was played at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in Lower Manhattan.

After a jumper by Penn State Brandywine's Jessy Gledhill put the Nittany Lions up 2-0 at the 8:45 mark, the Knights didn't allow another field goal for the remainder of the quarter while out-scoring the Nittany Lions 11-3 during that stretch. Tracey McFadden accounted for four first quarter points, while fellow newcomers Letisha Bolden and Tracey McFadden scored four points and three points in the opening 10 minutes, respectively.

At the 8:36 mark of the second quarter, Berkeley College's Jinedia Harkness gave the Knights their biggest lead of the game, draining a three-point basket to put her team up seven points at 14-7. Penn State Brandywine would respond with a 9-0 run, however, to jump out in front by a score of 16-14. The game would remain closely-contested, with neither club taking more than a three point advantage for the remainder of the half. As the opening session came to a close, the game was tied at 25 apiece.

In the third quarter, the Nittany Lions seized control of the contest. Penn State Brandywine opened up the session on a 6-0 run, thanks to a pair of converted layups by Olivia Encarnacion and another lay-in by Lauren Munro. At that juncture, the Nittany Lions held a 31-25 with 8:28 remaining in the quarter and would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

Encarnacion, Munro and Cashae Hinton combined to score Brandywine's first 14 points during the third quarter as the Nittany Lions' advantage increased to nine points. Alyssa Abbonizio's three-pointer at the 4:10 mark pushed the lead to double figures for the first time. Encarnacion gave Brandywine a 15-point cushion after three quarters with a pair of freebees, and the Lions would lead by as many as 27 points during the fourth quarter following a 10-0 run, before eventually going on to win the game by 25.

Despite the loss for the Knights, Kiara Johnson and Bolden tied for the team lead in points with 15 apiece. Bolden also snatched 15 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass. McFadden finalized her afternoon with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, and Harkness added seven points and six steals.

For Penn State Brandywine, Encarnacion and Munro shared the team lead in the points category with 14 points each, while Hinton tallied nine points, eight assists and five rebounds. Hinton and Encarnacion both tallied five steals and Munro accounted for four. The Nittany Lions' defense forced 37 turnovers and limited Berkeley to 23 percent shooting.

Penn State Brandywine held a 57-45 edge on the glass, and the Nittany Lions recorded 18 assists to the Knights' six.

Berkeley will return to the hardwood on Wednesday evening, as the Knights travel to King's Point, NY to battle USMMA. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 7:30pm.