PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Despite a career day by Leilani Kapinus the Penn State women's basketball team fell 71-62 at Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Kapinus recorded 23 points and 12 rebounds for her first career double-double. Penn State is now 9-15 overall and 3-11 in Big Ten play, while Rutgers is 8-17 overall and 1-12 in conference.
Kapinus added five steals to go with PSU's first double-double by a freshman since Lauren Ebo had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Nebraska on March 2, 2018. Kapinus registered her second game this season with five steals.
Makenna Marisa tallied 15 points and two steals, while Anna Camden had nine points and five rebounds. Penn State shot 37 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three. Penn State recorded 11 steals for its 11th game with double-digit steals.
Rutgers was led by Osh Brown's 20 points and 10 rebounds. She went 12-of-15 at the free throw line. Lasha Petree notched 17 points, while Victoria Morris had 12 and Sayawni Lassiter had 11. Rutgers shot 39 percent from the field and 53 percent from three. The Scarlet Knights hit 24-of-29 at the free throw line.
The Lady Lions built a 12-5 lead to start the game, which opened with a pair of layups by Kapinus. Marisa added a layup and a pair of free throws, while Kapinus had another layup during the stretch. However, Rutgers responded with a 14-2 run to take a 19-14 lead with 1:31 left in the quarter. Brown had five points during the run, while Lassiter, Morris and Petree hit threes. Penn State trailed 21-16 after the first quarter.
Penn State opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to hold a 26-21 advantage at the 6:23 mark. Kelly Jekot began the run with a three, while Marisa had five points and Shay Hagans added two. Four minutes later, Rutgers tied the game at 28-28 on a three by Jailyn Mason. However, back-to-back threes by Camden helped the Lady Lions to take a 34-30 lead into the break.
The Lady Lions held a 49-43 lead after the third quarter. Rutgers scored eight of the first 12 points of the quarter, including four points by Petree, to cut its deficit to 39-38 at the 6:56 mark. RU tied the game at 42-42 on a pair of free throws by Brown with 4:42 to go in the quarter. However, Penn State ended the period on a 7-1 run, including four points by Kapinus to close it out.
Rutgers' Petree hit back-to-back threes to close their deficit to one, 54-53, with 4:16 remaining. Kapinus stretched the lead back to three with a layup, but the Scarlet Knights answered with a 14-0 run, including six points by Morris and five by Lassiter, to hold a 67-56 lead with 26 seconds to go. Three-point plays by Ali Brigham and Marisa brought PSU within seven, 69-62, with 16 seconds to go. Two free throws by RU's Petree closed out the game.
Penn State returns to the Bryce Jordan Center to host Nebraska on Thursday, February 17. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on B1G+.
Leilani Kapinus