Penn State women’s basketball (4-3) couldn’t match up with Florida State (7-1) in Tallahassee on Thursday night as the team dropped its third of the season, 87-58. 

Sophomore Kamaria McDaniel posted a career-high of 24 points for the Lady Lions while going 10-14 from the field. However, 11 three-pointers from the Seminoles were enough to help Florida State cruise to victory in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. 

How It Happened

Florida State began the night by taking a quick 11-5 lead against the Lady Lions within the first four minutes. However, Penn State was able to claw its way back into the game by the end of the first quarter as it tied the game at 21-21.

Freshman Bexley Wallace was to thank for this first quarter response from Penn State. Her three straight buckets kept the game level heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter is where the Seminoles began to put Penn State away. Five triples in the quarter and a 64.7% shooting percentage by Florida State brought the score to 48-33 by the closing seconds. The third quarter was no better for the Lady Lions either as the Seminoles went on a 10-2 run to extend their lead to 58-35.

The Lady Lions kept fighting down the stretch. Senior Teniya Page scored seven straight points for Penn State to help keep her team in the game during the third quarter and McDaniel continued her stellar play as well.

Although Penn State was able to score eight straight points as time winded down, it was still not enough and Florida State won 87-58.

Takeaways

• Florida State’s Kiah Gillespie was the one player to outscore Kamaria McDaniel on the night. Gillespie scored 27 points and went 12-15 from the field to lead the Seminoles.
• Penn State couldn’t get anything going from beyond the arc as the team made an abysmal 23.3% of its attempted 3-pointers. In comparison, Florida State made 11 of its 26 attempted 3-pointers.
• The Lady Lions were able to keep up on the boards. It ended with a 36-30 Seminole advantage, but eight rebounds from Siyeh Frazier, six from Lauren Ebo, and five from Wallace helped Penn State stop the blowout from being even worse. 

What’s Next

The Lady Lions are back at the Bryce Jordan Center next to play Jacksonville (3-4) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Catch it on BTN.