71	64
Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa. | 3,123

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FINAL STATISTICS

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - With four players making their first career starts, the Penn State women's basketball team (1-0) rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to earn a 71-64 victory over Towson (0-1) in the Preseason WNIT first round at the Bryce Jordan Center. With the win, the Lady Lions will face the winner of the Albany-St. Francis (N.Y.) game on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Jordan Center.

It was the ninth-straight season opening victory for the Lady Lions and pushed head coach Coquese Washington to 8-0 in season opening games during her tenure as the Penn State bench boss. It also evened the all-time series with Towson at one win apiece. The Tigers won the only other meeting in the EAIAW Mid-Atlantic Tournament in 1975.

Sophomores Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.), Sierra Moore (Hanover) and Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.), and freshman Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) all made their first career starts for the Blue and White. Senior Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) rounded out the starting five with her 33rd consecutive start.

After sitting out last season due to injury, Spann led the team in scoring with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added five rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes of action. She is the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Maggie Lucas did so 13 times during her rookie season in 2010-11.

In her first game wearing the Blue and White, Moore scored 12 points - seven coming in the second half - and added five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. Six of her seven second half points came during a critical 22-9 run that gave Penn State the lead for good after Towson had built a nine-point advantage. She also had one assist during that spurt. For Moore, her 12 points, four assists and two blocks were all career-highs, breaking marks which she previously set while at Duke in 2012-13. She also tied her career-best with five rebounds.

Waldner had a productive day for Penn State, as well, with 11 points and tied her career high with 11 rebounds. It was the first career double-double for the senior, who was 5-of-7 from the field. She pulled down nine of her 11 boards on the defensive end and added one steal.

Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) tied her career-high with nine rebounds in the game, equaling her mark from Dec. 2, 2012 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, and added nine points in the contest, with seven coming in the final 20 minutes. Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) dished out a career-best five assists to go along with eight points, while Mitchell logged her third career double-digit scoring effort with 10 points.

Towson's Dominique Johnson led all scorers with 32 points in the contest.

After trading baskets through the first four minutes of the first half, Penn State used a 16-3 run over a 10-minute span to open up a 25-9 advantage with 6:02 to play in the opening stanza. It was contributions from a number of Lady Lions that enabled them to open their largest lead of the game, with Spann scoring five points and Mitchell scoring four during the spurt.

The Tigers would not go away quietly, however, as Towson closed the half on a 20-6 run, capped by a 35-foot three-pointer from Breonn Hughey. The buzzer-beating three-pointer cut Penn State's lead to 31-29 heading to the locker room.

Towson picked up where it left off to start the second half, using a 19-5 run to open half and grab a 48-39 lead with 12:50 to play. Johnson scored 13 of the Tigers' 19 points on the run.

A combination of Agee, Moore and Spann would carry the Lady Lions back into the contest over the next seven minutes. The trio scored 16 points during a 20-9 run, capped by a fast break layup from Spann to take the lead for good at 59-57 with 5:01 to play.

Down the stretch, Towson would keep it close, but free throw shooting and timely stops on defense helped the Lady Lions win their ninth straight season opener.

The 2014-15 Penn State Lady Lion Basketball season is presented by Kish Travel and Kish Insurance. With their win over Towson, the Lady Lions will face either Albany or St. Francis (N.Y.) in the Preseason WNIT second round on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.

Lady Lion Basketball single-game and season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Single-game tickets range from $10-17 for adults and seniors and $5-11 for youth (12 and younger). Season tickets are $105 for adults and $52 for youth (12 and under). Additionally, the Family Season Ticket package, which features two adult tickets and two youth tickets in the family section in section 114L, is $210. There is a $15 handling fee per order on season tickets.

The PNC Flex Books are $120 and give fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions' Pink Zone game. The Lady Lions also have a pair of mini-plans available this season with the B1G Deal and the Five for the 50th plans. The B1G Deal is a mini-plan that includes the nine Big Ten Conference home games. Tickets for the B1G Deal are $90 for adult sideline, $63 for youth sideline, $63 for adult baseline and $45 for youth baseline tickets. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Women's Athletics at Penn State, there is a Five for the 50th mini-plan. The plan features a ticket to the following games: South Florida (12/21), Illinois (1/4), Rutgers (1/10), Michigan State (2/11) and Ohio State (2/26). The package is $50 in honor of the 50th anniversary.

The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.