Penn State women’s basketball fails to complete comeback, falls to Rutgers

Penn State continued its rough stretch in Big Ten play on Thursday night.

The Lady Lions fell to Rutgers 62-57 at the Bryce Jordan Center, their fifth loss in the last six games. Penn State is now 7-10 overall as well as 1-5 in conference play.

Penn State fell behind in the contest early and couldn’t recover throughout the rest of the game. The Lady Lions held a lead for just 3:41 in the game, with their biggest lead being only four points.

With Penn State down by six entering the third quarter, coach Carolyn Kieger switched to a full court press defense, which the Lady Lions utilized for the remainder of the game.

“That was part of our game plan, to play up-tempo,” Kieger said postgame. “I thought that if we could get the game in the 60s or 70s, that pace favored Penn State and that was a way for us to be able to get that pace up a little bit more than Rutgers and run a little time off the clock.”

Guard Siyeh Frazier, normally a reliable scorer for the Lady Lions, shot 3-for-12 from the field. However, she still finished with 14 points, as most of her baskets came from the free throw line.

Both teams struggled from the three-point line, combining for just eight field goals from beyond the arc. Forward Anna Camden led the Lady Lions with three from deep.

Rutgers guard Arella Guirantes and Penn State guard Kamaria McDaniel are now tied atop the conference in scoring. On Thursday night, Guirantes was held to 10 points, going 4-for-17 from the floor, while McDaniel went 5-for-14 with 11 points.

Scarlet Knights guard Khadaizha Sanders was the primary ball handler for Rutgers in the contest, recording a game-leading seven assists. Sanders currently ranks third in the conference in assists per game.

The Scarlet Knights came into the Bryce Jordan Center at 14-2 on the season and second in the Big Ten standings. Rutgers is now 9-1 in its last 10 and riding a four-game winning streak.

Feature Image By Logan Bourandas