Penn State women’s basketball (1-1) hung around with No. 24 Cal for most of the game, but a late third quarter surge pushed the 2018 NCAA Tournament participants to a 75-58 win in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Golden Bears (2-0) overcame a poor first-half shooting effort and used Kristine Anigwe’s game-high 24 points to earn the win.

How It Happened 

Neither Penn State nor Cal had a strong start to the game offensively, with the teams shooting 32 percent and 36 percent, respectively, from the field in the first half. 

Junior guard Siyeh Frazier led the way for the Lady Lions in those opening 20 minutes — registering nine points and two steals, as well as helping force the Golden Bears’ 11 turnovers. She went on to finish the game with a career-high 17 points. Penn State trailed 33-29 heading into the break.

The Lady Lions held a 43-39 lead late in the third quarter, but things started to unravel once Cal took advantage of the low post. The Golden Bears finished the quarter on a 15-2 run to take their largest lead of the game — 54-45 — to that point. 

Cal wasn’t challenged in the final quarter, pulling away down the stretch to earn the 75-58 win.

Takeaways

• Penn State was atrocious from the field — finishing the game shooting 29 percent — but the biggest concern was that Teniya Page struggled offensively again. She finished with 10 points after shooting 4-16. If the Lady Lions are going to have any success this year, they need to figure out a way to get their star going.
• Until that second half surge, Penn State’s defense was huge for it. The fact that the Lady Lions were even in the game shooting as poorly as they were is a testament to their early defensive efforts.
• When the team stays in control and doesn’t turn the ball over 22 times like it did against Providence, Penn State’s up-tempo offense will stifle teams. It created some good looks, but the Lady Lions just weren’t able to put those opportunities away.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will travel to Big Apple to take on Fordham Wednesday for their first road game of the season. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and you can catch it on ESPN+.