UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team trailed by as much as 24 before clawing back within six in the final minutes, but the comeback attempt fell just short as Stony Brook earned an 81-70 win Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Senior Teniya Page led the Penn State (4-2) charge with a season-best and game-high 34 points. It marked her eighth career 30-plus points game, a mark that ranks second best in program history. Sophomore Kamaria McDaniel followed with a season-best 13 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Seawolves opened up a 15-5 lead seven minutes into the game as Penn State struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Back-to-back Page baskets helped the Lady Lions pull within 15-9, but a Stony Brook bucket ended the term to give the Seawolves a 17-9 lead through the first quarter.
- Stony Brook's Shania Johnson hit four three-pointers in the first 4:34 of the second quarter to help the Seawolves to an 14-2 run that put SBU in front 31-11 with 5:26 to play in the first half.
- Page added six points in the final five minutes of the term, but the Seawolves carried a 43-21 lead into the break.
- Stony Brook's lead sat at 58-37 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter until a steal from senior Kaleigh Semion led to a fastbreak layup from junior Siyeh Frazier that sparked 9-0 quarter-closing run. Frazier, Page and Bexley Wallace all contributed points as Penn State narrowed the Stony Brook led to 58-46 through three terms.
- A Page three-pointer was followed by a free throw from Karisma Ortiz to open the fourth stanza and bring Penn State within eight at 58-50 with 9:01 to play.
- The Lady Lions narrowed the gap all the way down to six following a pair of McDaniel free throws that put the score at 72-66 with 2:22 to play.
- Stony Brook scored nine of the final 13 points, however, to walk away with the 81-70 win.
KEY NOTES
- After her 34-point effort, Page now stands alone in second place for the most career 30-point games (8) in Lady Lion history. She was previously tied with Maggie Lucas (2011-14) at 7.
- With a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, Teniya Page tied Lindsey Spann (2015-17) for eighth place in career three-point field goals made (183).
- McDaniel's 13 points bested her previous season high of 12 that was set in the season opener against Providence.
- Alisia Smith went 4-4 at the free throw line, boosting her team-high free throw percentage up to 90.3 percent (28-for-31) on the season.
- Penn State snatched a season-high 12 steals.
STAT STANDOUTS
- Penn State shot 56.0 percent (14-for-25) from the field in the second half compared to a 34.7 percent (8-for-23) clip in the first half.
- Penn State continued its strong free throw shooting, finishing 77.4 percent (24-for-31) from the charity stripe.
- The Seawolves held a 39-30 rebound edge.
COACH'S TAKE
- "I thought that our defense was better in the second half, and that created some more opportunities with the flow of things for us then we did in the first half. We were able to generate some momentum in that way."
- "I was just extremely disappointed in our focus and effort defensively in the first half. We have to come with just a little bit more attention to detail in the first half. We need to really put four quarters together."
- "Over the short season so far we have stretches where we look really good defensively and we have stretches where we look really bad defensively. The task for us right now is to find a way to put four quarters of good defense together, and when we can do that I think we will be in good shape."
UP NEXT
- Penn State hits the road for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Thursday when the Lady Lions travel to Florida State.
- Tipoff from Tallahassee is set for 7 p.m.