No. 15 Gannon Women's Basketball Team Comes up Short Against Penn State in Exhibition Game

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Gannon women’s basketball team faced another Division I opponent during a trip to Penn State on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Knights fell to the Lady Lions by a 91-58 score.

Penn State finished with five players in double-digits and shot 54.5 percent from the field en route to the victory. The Lady Lions also scored 33 points off 28 Lady Knight turnovers.

Gannon started strong thanks to back-to-back layups by Caitlyn Lowe (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) and Jennifer Papich (Pittsburgh, Pa / Fox Chapel). The Lady Knights would hold a three point lead (14-11) with 12:42 left in the first half, but Penn State would use a 17-3 over the next seven minutes to lead 28-17 with 5:11 remaining.

A Lowe three-point basket would cut the lead to eight but the Lady Lions would use another run, this time 12-2, to take a 40-22 edge. A Danielle Tucker (Rochester, N.Y. / East) layup followed by a pair of free throws would put the score at 44-28 at the half.

Penn State would open the half with a three-point basket. Gannon responded with a bucket from Julie Kleber (Suffern, N.Y. / Suffern) but the scoring would stall there as the next six scores would come from Penn State. A Kleber three pointer would end the drought but the Lady Knights were unable to overcome the deficit, as Penn State would gradually stretch the lead, earning the 91-58 win.

The Lady Lions out-rebounded Gannon 34-22 while also recording 15 steals. Gannon finished 12-of-14 from the free throw line, while the Lions were just 13-of-19.

Kleber led all Lady Knights with 17 points, dishing out a pair of assists and grabbing a team-high four rebounds. Tucker would be the only other Gannon player to reach double-digit scoring, adding 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Amanda Dacek (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Berea) would add nine points and three assists while Lowe poured in seven points and pulled down three rebounds.

For Penn State, Alex Bentley and Gizelle Studevent each scored 18 points off the bench. Zhaque Gray was a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arch, adding 14 points.

Lady Knights open the 2010-11 regular season at the Ferris State Tournament on Saturday, November 20 and Sunday November 21, taking on Northwood and Ferris State.