Dec. 6, 2015
| 79 | 101 |
| Sundome Arena | Tampa, Fla. | Attn: 1,908 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Notes |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
TAMPA, Fla. -- An 18-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome for the Penn State women's basketball team, as they fell, 101-79, at No. 23/24 USF on Sunday inside Sundome Arena. The Lady Lions put up a fight against Bulls, cutting the lead to just five points with 1:55 left in the third quarter, but the Bulls responded down the stretch in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
Junior Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) led the way for Penn State with 18 points, to go along with two assists and three steals. It was a season-high for Mitchell and just two points shy of her career-high of 20 points, which she has set twice in her career.
Sophomore Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) added 17 points to rank second on the team. Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) notched 10 points and added a career-high-tying six assists. Freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) also reached double-figures with 15 points.
Junior Peyton Whitted chipped in 10 points and added a team-high seven rebounds.
Senior Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) had five points and blocked two shots, moving her into ninth place on the career blocked shots charts at Penn State. She passed Talia East (102, 2011-14) and ended the game with 103 blocked shots.
It was the first time since Feb. 20, 2012 against Northwestern that five Lady Lions reached double-digit scoring in the same game.
Penn State got out to an early lead, 4-0, as Spann and Banks each reached the scoring column early to force USF to call a timeout. The Bulls responded and the game was eventually tied at six points. After matching baskets to make it 10-10, USF used a 10-0 run to open up a 20-10 lead with 2:11 to play in the opening quarter and eventually took a 26-15 edge into the first break.
The second quarter was played at an arm's length, with the Bulls holding a double-digit lead for most of the game. Penn State closed the gap to nine points on a pair of Candice Agee free throws with 4:26 to play in the half, making it 39-30. USF closed the half on a 14-5 spurt to head to the locker room ahead, 53-35.
Defense picked up for the Lady Lions to start the third quarter, as three steals led to an 11-4 run, capped by a Mitchell steal and layup to pull the score to 57-46 with 6:30 to play, forcing USF to use its third timeout of the game early in the quarter. Spann knocked down a pair of three-pointers to cut the deficit to single digits and with 1:55 left, Page's jumper made it a five-point game, 65-60. USF closed on an 8-2 spurt to lead, 73-62, heading to the fourth quarter.
The Bulls responded with a 28-point fourth quarter to close out the victory, outscoring the Lady Lions 28-17 over the final 10 minutes. Page led the way for Penn State with six points in the fourth quarter.
The Blue and White return to the Bryce Jordan Center for the annual Toys For Tots game and a matchup with Youngstown State on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The Lady Lions and Penguins will tipoff at 7 p.m. with live audio and video available at GoPSUsports.com and on the Penn State Sports Network.
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