Penn State women’s basketball (10-6, 1-2 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak with by gutting out a 77-74 win over Indiana (7-9, 0-3 Big Ten) in the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday night.

Redshirt sophomore guard Amari Carter, who finished with a career-high 26 points, dished out the game-winning assist to Siyeh Frazier with 15 seconds to go to push the Lady Lions past the Hoosiers.

How It Happened

A high scoring first quarter saw both team trade blows early on. Carter made her presence known, scoring 15 points in the first with a trio of three pointers that helped push Penn State to a 26-22 lead by the end of the first.

Forward Amanda Cahill and guard Tyra Buss were the only Hoosiers to score in the double digits on the night, but both would end up over 20 and provided Carter on the rest of the squad a tough time on defense. Cahill finished with a double-double, not only tormenting the Lady Lions in the post but also going 2-5 from three, spreading the floor and allowing Buss to attack the basket relentlessly. Buss would finish with 27 and go 10-12 from the free throw line.

In the second quarter, some of Penn State’s other weapons came alive. Alisia Smith has taken over as the go-to freshmen on the bench, getting 10 points and seven boards and provided much needed inside play from the bench. Teniya Page, Jaida Travascio-Green, and Frazier would all score over ten as well, helping keep a balanced attacks going on all fronts. Penn State kept on rolling, making it to the final period of play with a 60-50 lead thanks to a 10-0 run to finish off the third quarter.

Buss and Cahill continued to be pains for the defense, continued attention towards them opened up some opportunities for other Hoosiers to score here and there. While Indiana and Penn State remained close in field goal and three point percentages, and rebounds, Indiana had more success at the charity stripe than Penn State.

Though Indiana gave up 26 fouls to the Lady Lions’ 18, Penn State shot 16-24 from the line to Indiana’s 16-19. This, plus some bad turnovers, allowed Indiana to go on a 21-6 run and tie the game with 22 seconds. But some late turnovers from Indiana, who’d been ever more sloppy with the ball than Penn State, and some clutch buckets helped right the ship for the Lady Lions. A Frazier layup and steal plus some free throws from Page iced it for the Lady Lions, 77-74.

Player of the Game

Amari Carter | Guard | Redshirt Sophomore

The D.C. native went off against the Hoosiers, powering her team towards their eventual comeback victory with those 26 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals.

What’s Next

The Lady Lions head out on the road once more, this time across the New Jersey state line as they take on a 15-2 Rutgers team, who are also 3-0 in conference play. The game will tipoff at 4:30 on Saturday.