CINCINNATI, Ohio- Penn State women’s basketball suffers 76-53 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon inside Fifth Third Arena. The Lady Lions fall to 0-2, 0-0 Big Ten to begin the season while the Bearcats improve to 2-0, 0-0 Big 12. Cincinnati captured an early lead and never let up to finalize the win.
Junior guard Devyn Quigley led the Lady Lions in scoring with 19 points, marking her second consecutive double figure scoring outing. Graduate guard Enjulina Gonzalez was the next highest scorer for PSU with nine points on three-of-four made shots from the field and three-of-six made from the free throw line. Graduate forward Cristen Carter led Penn State on the glass with 12 rebounds and sophomore guard Ava Black followed with seven rebounds. As a team, the Lady Lions outrebounded the Bearcats 37-30 and outscored the home team by a 32-28 margin in the paint.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Cincinnati struck first with eight-straight points. Quigley got the scoring started for the Lady Lions with a layup at the rim off a feed from Black. The Lady Lions compiled six consecutive points to narrow the margin to 8-6, but the Bearcats ballooned their lead to 16-8 at the media timeout. Both teams made one of their two chances at the charity stripe before Cincinnati edged to a 10-point lead at 19-9. Gonzalez made use of a second-chance opportunity with a pair of points, but the Bearcats responded with a shot from beyond the arc to pull ahead 22-11 at the end of the first frame.
Second Quarter
The Bearcats put up five points out of the break to Penn State’s one. Petra Božan and Quigley each added a set of points to chip at the 27-16 deficit. Cincinnati put up four more points to create a 31-17 lead with one point from Gonzalez mixing in between. The Bearcats drained five additional points to create a 19-point advantage at the 3:34 mark in the second stanza, forcing PSU to utilize a timeout. The squads traded baskets with Quigley adding two points for Penn State. Skylar Durley made one of her two free throws, marking the final points of the first half and a 40-20 Cincinnati lead.
Third Quarter
Cincinnati added the first points of the second half, putting up four-straight. Gonzalez found her way to the basket to break up the scoring and spark a 6-0 run for the Lady Lions with points from Quigley off a turnover and Božan on a mid-range jumper. The Bearcats answered with two points to maintain a 20-point lead. Durley drained a turnaround jumper after a shot clock violation for Cincinnati and Gonzalez made one free throw to narrow the score to 46-29 at the media break. The Bearcats added 11 points out of the timeout to create a 27-point margin, with a free throw from Gonzalez amidst the Cincinnati scoring. Gonzlez added two points and Black made two free throws, but the Bearcats had the final word of the quarter. The score after 30 minutes of action was 62-34.
Fourth Quarter
Penn State scored the first four points of the final frame, both sets coming from turnovers, forcing the Bearcats to use an early timeout. The Lady Lions continued their run, coming up with stops on defense and finding another four points on the other end of the court to cut the deficit to 20. Cincinnati broke its scoring drought with two points, but Quigley earned a trip to the charity stripe to keep the margin at 20 points. The guard added points out of the media timeout, with the Bearcats adding two, creating a 64-46 deficit with just over four minutes to play. Cincinnati compiled four consecutive points to increase its lead to 70-50, but Savannah White added two to break up the scoring. The Bearcats put up five while Penn State converted three over the last two minutes of play to end the game with a 76-53 Cincinnati win.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Penn State moves to 2-2 in its all-time series with Cincinnati.
- Quigley recorded her seventh double-digit scoring performance of her career and second consecutive.
- White’s four blocked shots are the most by a Lady Lion since 2024.
- Quigley’s 19 points are the most by a Penn State player this year.
- Carter’s 12 rebounds are the most by a Penn State player this year.
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