ESTERO, Fla. – The Penn State women's basketball team dropped an 81-74 decision against Kent State on Sunday at the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Lady Lions are now 4-3 on the season while Kent State improved to 5-1.
Makenna Marisa led four Penn State scorers in double-figures with 23 points. She added three rebounds and five assists. Shay Hagans had a season-high 15 points, on 6-of-7 shooting, to go with five assists. Niya Beverley contributed 14 points, hitting all six shot attempts, and Anna Camden contributed 10 points. Penn State shot 46 percent from the floor.
Kent State had five players in double-figures, led by Katie Shumate's 17. Lindsay Thall had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Nila Blackford had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Casey Santoro recorded 15 points and Bridget Dunn notched 10. Kent State shot 41 percent from the field.
The Lady Lions trailed 18-8 after the first quarter. Marisa scored four of PSU's eight points with Leilani Kapinus and Tova Sabel each adding two. Kent State was aided by an 8-2 run, including threes by Shumate and Dunn.
Penn State started the second quarter on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 21-18. Beverley contributed five during the run and Hagans added a three. After a three by Dunn gave the Golden Flashes a 26-21 advantage, a jumper by Camden, layup by Hagans and a layup and free throw by Thornton tied the game at 28-28 with 3:14 remaining in the quarter. Kent State recorded a pair of layups before a pair of free throws by Marisa closed out the half. Penn State trailed 32-30 at the break.
Five straight points by Beverley gave Penn State its first lead of the second half, 39-38, with 5:25 left in the third quarter. The teams traded leads until a short 5-0 run by the Golden Flashes, including three free throws by Santoro, gave Kent State a 49-44 lead with 2:11 to go in the quarter. After a three by Marisa and a layup by Hagans, Penn State trailed 53-49 going into the final quarter.
Kent State began the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run, including five points by Santoro to take a 63-51 lead at the 6:49 mark. The Lady Lions answered with a 10-3 run, led by seven points from Marisa and three from Hagans, to cut the deficit to 66-61 with 3:40 remaining.
A three by Marisa and back-to-back treys by Camden pulled Penn State within four, 74-70, with 1:51 left. Four points by Santoro and a free throw by Shumate pushed Kent State's lead back to 79-70 as the Golden Flashes held on for the victory.
The Lady Lions meets Boston College on Thursday, December 2 in Chestnut Hill for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. with a broadcast on ACC Network.
