Dec. 12, 2015
60 | 70 |
Reilly Center | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. |
POST GAME LINKS |
Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
Notes |
FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --Down by 19 points late in the third quarter, the Penn State women's basketball team rallied to make it a two-point game midway through the fourth quarter before falling, 70-60, at St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon. A career-high 26 points from senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) highlighted the afternoon, as the Lady Lions dropped the road contest to the Bonnies at the Reilly Center.
Penn State (4-6) connected on 20-of-60 (33.3%) shots from the field and made 16-of-20 (80.0%) shots from the free throw line. St. Bonaventure (8-2) hit 25-of-58 (43.1%) field goals and was 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the charity stripe in the contest. The Lady Lions forced 16 turnovers -- including nine steals -- and committed just 13 turnovers in the contest.
Banks set a career-high with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and a 4-of-5 effort from the free throw stripe. The 10 field goals are a career-best -- one-upping her nine makes vs. Fordham earlier this season -- and the four made free throws tie a career high. The senior added three rebounds, two steals, one blocked shot and one assist in the game, in a career-high 34 minutes of play.
Sophomore Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) posted her fourth straight game in double figures with 17 points, to go along with a game-high three steals. Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) netted seven points with a team-best six rebounds, and Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) added five points and five boards.
Junior Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) extended her streak to 11 straight games with a steal as she had a swipe-and-score during Penn State's run that cut the lead to two points in the fourth quarter.
Banks gave Penn State the early lead, 4-3, with a pair of baskets, but the Bonnies scored 12 straight points to push the lead to 11 points, 15-4, with 4:02 to play. The Lady Lions ended the quarter with six of the final 10 points to pull the score within nine at the first break, 19-10.
The Bonnies lead swelled to 12 points (27-15) on a Matea Britvar jumper with 4:17 to play in the second quarter, but the Lady Lions responded over the next two minutes to cut the lead to single digits. An 8-0 run was sparked by a pair of Spann free throws, while Banks netted a pair of jumpers to trim the lead to six points (27-21) with 2:58 to play. Page sunk a pair of free throws with 2:18 to play in the first half to bring Penn State within four points, 27-23. The Bonnies closed the half on a 7-3 run to head to the locker room with a 34-26 lead.
Spann collected a rebound and laid it in as time expired in the second quarter and she built on that to start the third quarter. Spann splashed a three pointer to start the frame, but St. Bonaventure followed with 10 straight points to push the lead to 15 (44-29) with 6:32 to play. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the third quarter and the Bonnies headed to the final 10 minutes with a 54-40 edge.
A furious rally over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter pulled the Lady Lions within two points, 56-54, with 6:20 to play in the contest. Six different players scored for Penn State during the 14-2 burst, including four points from Spann and a steal & score from Sevillian. The Bonnies pushed the lead back to four points, before a pair Banks free throws again made it a one possession game (58-56) with 4:18 left in the game. St. Bonaventure would out score the Lady Lions 12-4 down the stretch to extend the lead and close out the 70-60 victory.
The Lady Lions will have a week break for finals before returning to the court against Sacred Heart on Sunday, Dec. 20. The Lady Lions and Pioneers will tip off at Noon inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans that cannot make the game can watch it live on the BTN2go.com or catch it live on the airwaves on the Penn State Sports Network.
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