In a season where not much has gone right for Penn State, Sunday’s game in West Lafayette served as a lone bright spot for the Lady Lions. Despite trailing 24-17 at halftime, the Lady Lions (6-18, 3-10 B1G) stormed back in the second half to beat Purdue 54-50 to earn their first Big Ten road win of the year. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lady Lions.

How It Happened

Penn State’s offense sputtered out of the gate, committing five turnovers and going 0-for-7 from the field in the first five minutes. Purdue’s offense didn’t fare much better, as the Boilermakers (10-13, 3-9 B1G) held a 13-9 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. Purdue went on to extend its lead to 18-12, but Penn State closed out the half by scoring five of the last seven points to cut the Boilermaker’s lead to 20-17 at the half. Both offenses were abysmal in the first half, as Purdue shot 24 percent from the field while the Lady Lions shot 32 percent.

Purdue extended its lead to 24-17 at the beginning of the second half, but the Lady Lions responded with a 12-2 run helped in large part by a Keke Sevillian three pointer. However, the Boilermakers responded with a 10-0 run to take a 39-32 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. A Lindsey Spann three pointer ended the scoring draught and sparked a 10-0 run for the Lady Lions, giving Penn State a 42-39 edge over the Boilermakers. Play went back and forth for the rest of the game, but five free throws down the stretch sealed the 54-50 victory for Penn State.

Player of the Game

Player of the game honors go to Lindsey Spann, who had 16 points and three assists in the win. In a game where the Lady Lions collectively shot 19-of-52 from the field, Spann’s 4-of-7 line from behind the arc dragged the Lady Lions out of several scoring droughts throughout the afternoon.

Takeaways

It may not have been pretty, but yesterday’s win stopped a three-game skid and hopefully swung momentum in the right direction for the struggling Lady Lions. Penn State has five games remaining on its conference schedule, so yesterday’s win serves as a potential building block to salvage the season and carry some momentum into the Big Ten tournament in early March.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions are in action again this Wednesday as they host Michigan State. The Spartans are currently 11-13 on the year with a 3-10 record in the Big Ten.

Photo: Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports