LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Penn State women's golf team had a record-setting final round Sunday at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational finishing in second place in the 12-team field after an 18-hole tournament and school record 10-under, 278.
The new school record is one stroke better than the Nittany Lions final round 9-under, 279 achieved earlier this season at the Nittany Lion Invitational. Penn State finished the weekend at 4-under, 860, which is also a new school record surpassing the 2-under 862, recorded during the 2012 Nittany Lion Invitational.
Penn State finished the weekend just two shots back of host Kentucky after entering the day with a 16 stroke deficit. Middle Tennessee finished in third place (5-over, 869) while Memphis, who also recorded a 10-under final round, completed the tournament in fourth place (10-over, 874). Notre Dame rounded out the top-5 finishing at 17-over, 881.
The Nittany Lions have now finished first or second in each of their last three tournaments.
"We put up quite the fight today," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "I am very proud of this team we did a lot of different things really well and were able to make up a huge gap because of really good course management."
Senior Cara Basso (Downingtown, Pa.) led the way for the second consecutive day carding a 5-under 67 to tie her personal-best and set and new career 18-hole low. The senior is just the fourth player in program history to record a 67 and the third this year joining fellow senior Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) and freshman Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) who each shot 67 in the final round of the Nittany Lion Invitational. Basso's final 36-hole total of 9-under, 135 is also a new school record, two strokes better than Katie Futcher's 137 at the Yale Invitational in 2002.
Basso registered a team-best seven birdies and one eagle on the round finishing the tournament in second place with a career-low 9-under (207). Her 54-hole score is the second-best mark in program history only behind Willis' 11-under, 205 earlier this season at the Nittany Lion Invitational. This marks the senior's second runner-up finish this season and her third-straight top-10 finish this fall.
Classmate Jackie Rogowicz (Yardley, Pa.) also finished in the top-10 in a tie for seventh with a 2-under score of 216 after posting her second consecutive round under par shooting a 2-under, 70 on Sunday.
"I drove the ball really well this week," mentioned Rogowicz."I got off to a good start each day and didn't have many three putts."
Willis registered her third sub-70 round this fall with a bogey-free 3-under 69 in the final round on Sunday to move into a tie for 11th. Waller and junior Megan McLean (Lebanon, N.J.) each rounded out the team scoring with even par rounds of 72 finishing the tournament tied for 31st and 39th, respectively.
Penn State now takes a few weeks off before concluding its fall season at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C. on October 26-28.