DAYTON, Ohio- Penn State women’s basketball falls to Dayton, 77-71 on Monday evening in tough road battle. The Lady Lions fall to 0-3, 0-0 Big Ten while the Flyers improve to 1-1, 0-0 A10. Juniors Petra Božan and Devyn Quigley delivered career high performances despite the loss.
Penn State battled back from as large as a 10-point deficit to narrow the margin to three with under one minute remaining in the contest, but a turnover allowed Dayton to extend its lead over the last 45 seconds.
Božan led all scorers with a career high 27 points on a tremendously efficient shooting effort. The junior forward posted 10-of-11 shooting from the field, a personal best five-of-six from three and two-of-two from the line. Quigley followed with 23 points including 18 coming from beyond the arc, both new career best marks. She also produced five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Skylar Durley tallied 10 points in addition to three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Senior forward Cristen Carter led the Lady Lions in rebounds once again with eight. She also compiled five points, four assists and one steal. Penn State produced its best field goal shooting performance of the season with 42.9% from the field and 52.4% from three-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Dayton struck first with a shot from beyond the arc. Durley responded with a mid-range shot. The teams traded baskets until the Lady Lions sparked a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 9-5. The Flyers broke their dry spell with a layup at the rim, but Božan had the answer with a long-range shot. Dayton added two more, but Quigley sank her second three pointer to give PSU a six-point edge into the first break of the quarter at 3:46. The Flyers made a layup to narrow the margin, but Božan tallied her second three to create a seven-point lead. Dayton added five points, but Quigley silenced with her third triple of the first frame to generate a 21-16 lead for the Lady Lions at the end of the first stanza.
Second Quarter
The Flyers added a shot from the charity stripe to start the scoring. Black threw up a longer jumper for a set of points, but Dayton responded with six consecutive to level the score at 23-23. Quigley broke up the stretch with a jumper which was answered by seven points from the Flyers, creating a 30-25 advantage for the home team. Durley stopped the bleeding with a pair of points for the Lady Lions. The teams traded baskets with Durley adding another for PSU until Dayton completed a three-point play to widen its lead to seven points. The Flyers earned two shots at the line as time winded down in the second frame. Penn State’s final opportunity in the quarter fell short, leading to a 37-29 Dayton lead at halftime.
Third Quarter
Dayton started the scoring, but Penn State came out of the break hot from beyond the arc. Božan drained three triples to decrease the deficit to 44-40, forcing the Flyers to use an early timeout. Dayton added three points following the stoppage, but Quigley had the answer with her fourth shot from beyond the arc. The Flyers managed two free shots and PSU added a jumper to maintain the four-point margin. The Dayton widened the gap with three points and Durley’s two made shots from the charity stripe created a score of 52-48 with just over a minute to play in the frame. A steal and score for Quigley formed a two-point game at the 30 second mark. Dayton made one free throw to end the quarter up 53-50.
Fourth Quarter
Dayton had the first points, but Božan worked her way to the rim for a pair of points. A three-pointer for the home team was followed by a near two-minute dry spell for both teams. A duo of free throws elevated the Flyers’ lead to 60-52. Božan put back a layup after grabbing the offensive rebound and added another two points in back-to-back fashion to narrow the margin to 60-56. Each team made a basket with Dayton adding a free throw on the tail end. Boźan earned a trip to the line where she made both. Dayton compiled four consecutive points before Gonzalez got her first of the day. After a big defensive stop, Quigley drained an even bigger three to narrow the margin to two. The Flyers added five-straight to widen their advantage to 72-65 at the :55 mark. A quick basket for Božan put the deficit back to five, but a free shot for Dayton grew the margin to six. Another big three pointer for Quigley made it a three-point game with just under 45 seconds to play. Durley came up with a big steal to give Penn State an opportunity to tie it but the Lady Lions were unable to inbound the ball following a timeout. Free throws from the Flyers doomed the comeback effort and Penn State fell to Dayton, 77-71.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Penn State’s 21 first quarter points are the most in a single quarter during the 2026-27 campaign.
- Quigley produced her third consecutive double figure scoring performance, becoming the only Lady Lion to tally double-digit points in all three outings.
- Božan compiled a career best 27 points and five three pointers.
- Quigley posted a career best 23 points and six threes.
- Carter and Durley made her first starts as Lady Lions.
- Between Quigley and Božan, Penn State was able to produce 11 made threes, the first time the program has done so since playing USC at Rec Hall in February last season.
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