Penn State women’s basketball (7-4) finished its out-of-conference run of mostly mid-majors with a comfortable victory over American, 80-59.

The Eagles (4-5) struggled with the Lady Lions speedy play as four Penn State players finished in double figures.

How It Happened

Penn State battled it out with American through the first half of the game, with Kamaria McDaniel’s double-digit scoring effort off the bench bolstering the Lady Lions offense through the first half of play.

Her 10 points led all scorers as the two teams went into the half tied 33-33.

The Lady Lions started to gain a foothold straight out of the break with a 17-6 run. Led by mini runs from Amari Carter and Alisia Smith, Penn State shot 50 percent from the field in the third quarter to take a 59-47 lead into the final period of play.

Amari Carter goes coast coast and the Lady Lions are on a 13-2 run!#BringTheRoar pic.twitter.com/Ovk1UIr6A2

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 16, 2018

Penn State wasn’t challenged in the fourth quarter as it managed to close out the game with Carter posting a season-high 18 points and season-leading scorer Teniya Page finishing with 17 points. One last 10-0 run at the end of the game pushed the Lady Lions to a 80-59 win.

Takeaways

• The Lady Lions grabbed two wins to finish non-conference play, but it still didn’t change the brutal stretch for the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Sitting just outside the top 100 in the RPI, Penn State is in need of a miraculous Big Ten slate to avoid missing the Big Dance for the fifth straight year.
• It looks like Penn State’s settling with four guards — Amari Carter, Teniya Page, Siyeh Frazier, and Karisma Ortiz — along with sophomore forward Alisia Smith in the starting five. It’s certainly a smaller lineup, but it fits that up-tempo style of play the Lady Lions have made part of their identity over the past few seasons.

What’s Next

Penn State has almost a two-week layoff before beginning its conference slate against No. 6 Maryland (10-0). Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 28 at the Bryce Jordan Center. No TV information has been released, but the game will likely stream on BTN Plus.