ERIE, Pa. - It was a night to celebrate for La Roche women's basketball, as Alexiss Griggs picked up her first career head coaching victory, as the Redhawks took down AMCC Preseason favorite, Penn State Behrend, 68-64, in the AMCC opener on Wednesday night.

It's the first of what should be many wins for Griggs and it all started with a dominant first quarter to put the Lions on their heels immediately.

La Roche would trail 4-0 over the first 3:42 of play, as shots on both sides were struggling to fall. It didn't deter the Redhawks, as they used a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to open a solid lead and ultimately took a 16-8 edge into the second quarter.

Behrend quickly cut the deficit in the second stanza, scoring 10 of the first 12 points to trim the La Roche lead down to 18-16. The Lions would even cut the score down to one point, 23-22, with 4:18 remaining in the half, but the Redhawks would hold on and took a 27-26 lead into the break.

Out of the half, La Roche charged right back ahead, building a 44-28 lead, outscoring Behrend, 17-2 in the first six minutes of the third. The final stretch of play was all Lions, scoring 11 of the final 12 points in the quarter to cut the deficit to 45-39 entering the final quarter.

The Redhawks would continue to hold the lead and at the midway point of the final frame, the lead sat at 58-47. Still leading by 10 points, 63-53, with 55 seconds remaining, La Roche had to hold off a near desperation comeback by the Lions, who in 37 seconds, cut the deficit to 64-62 with 18 seconds to go.

The Redhawks would capitalize on free throws down the stretch and were able to hold off Behrend, 68-64.

On the night, La Roche finished 22-for-58 (37.9%) from the floor, 5-for-11 (45.5%) from three and went 19-for-31 (61.3%) from the free-throw line.

The Lions ended the night shooting 36.4% (28-for-77) from the field, 14.3% (3-for-21) from deep and converted just five of nine free-throws (55.6%).

Catherine Kelly and Jazmine Dunn provided 18 points each to lead the way for the Redhawks, while Kelly added eight rebounds and Dunn provided three rebounds, two assists and five steals.

Kaitlyn Nease collected her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go alongside three blocks, while J'La Kizart loaded the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks.

La Roche looks to take the momentum into Saturday's matchup, as they stick to the road and face Alfred State. Opening tip is slated for 2 pm.