The Penn State women’s basketball team could not overcome a poor first half and turnover issues in its 79-69 loss to Purdue on Thursday night. A strong second-half rally was not enough, and the Lady Lions suffered their fifth defeat of the year.

The game went back and forth early on until Purdue went on a 19-6 run that broke the game open. Purdue held the Lady Lions to just four 3-point attempts in the first half, none of which Penn State were able to convert. The Lady Lions did not attempt a single free-throw in the half either, which contributed to the 42-24 halftime deficit.

Purdue came out firing in the second half and extended the lead to 49-26. The Lady Lions would not quit, though, and made several furious comebacks. With 8:41 left in the game, Zhaque Gray cut the deficit to six points, but that would be as close as Penn State could get. Purdue pushed the lead out to 18 points before the Lady Lions closed the gap slightly to finish with a 79-69 loss.

After breaking the record for most 3-pointers made by a freshman on Sunday against Illinois, Maggie Lucas was held in check by the Purdue defense. Lucas made three 3-pointers, but only 13 points–well below her season average of 16.8 percent. Alex Bentley led the Lady Lions with 14 points, while Julia Trogele and Gray each contributed 12.

With the loss, Penn State falls to 15-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. Next up for the Lady Lions is a home match against Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m.