Penn State women’s basketball (10-12, 3-8 Big Ten) lost to Ohio State (10-11, 5-7 Big Ten) 78-73, at Value City Arena in Columbus on Wednesday night.

Despite a strong second half effort from Teniya Page, who finished with a team-high 22 points, the Lady Lions couldn’t keep up with the Buckeyes down the stretch.

How It Happened

Siyeh Frazier led the way for the Lady Lions to open things up. The junior guard put up a team high eight first quarter points and shot a perfect three for three from the field, along with two made free throws. Both offenses went back and forth throughout the first quarter, with the Buckeyes leading 14-12 at the break.

The conference rivals continued to pace each other in the second period of play. The Lady Lions took the lead on an Amari Carter three with 55 seconds remaining, but a last second lay-up by Dorka Juhasz tied the game up at 29 heading into halftime. Despite the score being tied, the Lady Lions were frustrated after missing several wide open lay-ups that could have separated them from the Buckeyes in the first half.

Coquese Washington was forced to take a timeout early in the third quarter after the Buckeyes hit two threes and took a 35-29 lead with 8:27 remaining.

The Lady Lions battled back after Washington’s timeout, but struggled to keep pace with an Ohio State offense which quickly got hot from three. The Buckeyes hit four shots from behind the arc to open up the third quarter, taking a 45-39 lead at a media timeout with 4:11 remaining in the period.

After only scoring two points in the first half, Teniya Page got red hot in the final minutes of the third quarter. The senior guard scored 12 points by way of a couple of free throws, a lay-up while being fouled, and a wide open three-pointer. The game was once again tied at 51 to finish the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was no different than the rest of the game, as both teams were able to find consistent offensive play from several different players. Teniya Page continued to lead the way for the Lady Lions down the stretch. Page hit two free throws to give Penn State a 66-63 lead, its largest of the night, leading Ohio State to call a timeout with 3:13 remaining in the game.

Both teams traded the lead over the last few minutes, but the Buckeyes took a 74-73 lead with 20 seconds remaining on on a Carmen Grande lay-up. Makayla Waterman then forced a turnover and the Buckeyes earned possession back.

The Lady Lions got the ball back with seven seconds remaining down by three, but Teniya Page missed a shot from beyond the arc. Penn State had no option other than fouling with four seconds remaining. The Buckeyes hit both ensuing free throws to seal a victory by a final score of 78-73.

Takeaways

• Penn State missed quite a few shots in the first half. Despite picking up their shooting percentage in the final minutes of play, the Lady Lions missed several easy opportunities to give themselves a larger lead throughout the game, including plenty of wide open lay-ups.
• Ohio State’s free throw shooting made a difference down the stretch. The Lady Lions shot a much better percentage from the line, but the fact that they only shot 18 while the Buckeyes got 32 opportunities from the stripe was a killer for Penn State. Ohio State didn’t have an extremely impressive offense in the final minutes, but its ability to consistently get to the line helped them hold on to the lead.
• Teniya Page has plenty of momentum to carry into the Lady Lion’s next game against Michigan, a game they will need to win if they want any realistic shot at making the NCAA Tournament. The senior guard committed three fouls and only scored two points in the first half. In the second, she didn’t commit another foul and put up 20 points. She’ll need to put up more performances like this in order for Penn State to pick up some wins in the final few weeks of the season.

What’s Next

Penn State will return home to State College for its Pink Game against Michigan at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 10.