The Lady Lions (6-2) beat Wake Forest (2-5) in their first game since coming back winless from the South Point Shootout. Both teams had rough Vegas trips, as the Demon Decons dropped both of their games as well.

Both teams shot poorly from the field – 29% for Penn State and 32% for Wake Forest – but going 28-33 on free throws helped Penn State out tremendously as they took advantage of a foul happy Wake Forest.

How It Happened

The Lady Lions started the game hot, three quick baskets from Jaida Travascio-Green, Teniya Page, and De’Janae Boykin gave Penn State a quick 6-0 lead. A timeout for Wake Forest was all they needed to wake themselves up, as they answered with suffocating defense and tied up the match at six.

While the Demon Decons shot poorly, the Lady Lions did as well, going 1-8 on field goals. Jaylen Williams pulled through with two free throws and the fantastic freshman pairing of Sam Breen and Kamaria McDaniel came through with points. Wake Forest stayed with it, tying the game back up at 12-12 before a Boykin layup right before the buzzer gave Penn State a 14-12 edge into the second.

Using that late first quarter run as momentum into the second, the Lady Lions ran with it in the second. 11 unanswered points by the Lady Lions, including an electric three-point play by McDaniel gave them a double-digit lead.

Wake Forest forward Ona Udoh came off the bench to score three points for the Demon Deacons to bring them within nine, but Page responded with two straight perfect trips to the line and a layup to erase that tiny run. Wake Forest wouldn’t score a filed goal for the remainder of the quarter, only managing two free throws at the end of the second. Layups from Boykin and McDaniel kept pushing the Penn State lead. Travascio-Green made the teams first three of the game, The half came soon after those Wake forest free throws and the Lady Lions took a 20 point lead into the half, 38-18.

After only scoring six points in the second quarter, Wake Forest came back to the land of the living with 17 in the third quarter. While its 20 point lead was trimmed down to 16, Penn State remained fiercely in control. McDaniel went 4-4 from the line, Teniya Page made the team’s second three pointer, and Boykin got to ten rebounds on the night. While both teams shot a under 30% on the night, it affected Penn State the least thanks to their control of the glass. Penn State took a 51-35 lead into halftime.

Wake Forest continued its late run, outscoring Penn State and brining the game to within 7. Poor shooting from the Lady Lions, including multiple airballs, didn’t do Penn State any favors. Page came in clutch in the closing minutes, nailing a jumper and two free throws to push the Lady Lions to a double-digit lead. A three from Wake Forest forward Elisa Penna brought the Demon Deacons to within eight, but Page made two more free throws to ice it and Penn State walked away with a 68-58 win.

Player Of The Game

Teniya Page | Junior | Guard

She’s back! The one consistent presence on a rough shooting night for the Lady Lions, Page led both teams with 21 points while going 10-11 form the charity stripe.

What’s Next

The Lady Lions will continue their homestand on Sunday against Manhattan. The game will take place at 2 p.m.