Big Third Quarter Powers Penn State Over Women's Basketball, 73-47

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team was outscored 21-6 in the third quarter and dropped a 73-47 decision on the road to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA. With the loss the Blue Devils fall to 1-3 on the season. Junior Aleah Epps led Central with 12 points in the game.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on the Nittany Lions (3-1) after Epps drained a three pointer on CCSU's first possession of the game followed by a layup from senior TeJahne Malone on their next possession.

Penn State would fight back, however, and tied the game, 10-10, with 57 seconds left in the first period, but a jumper by Epps on the final trip down the floor for CCSU gave Central a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions would then take control of the pace of play and used a 10-0 run in the middle of the second quarter to take a lead that they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the contest. After Central led 18-15 on consecutive baskets from sophomore Camden Musgrave, Penn State rattled of 10 unanswered points to take a 25-18 edge with 4:22 left before halftime. Peyton Whitted and Keke Sevillian fueled the spurt for PSU with five points each.

Both teams would trade buckets for the remainder of the first half and the Lady Lions entered the locker rooms leading by seven, 32-25.

The Nittany Lions came out of the break strong, outscoring the Blue Devils 21-6 in the third quarter. They used a 12-2 run to open the quarter and pull away from CCSU, 44-27, powered by six points from Teniya Page. They would then close out the period edging the Blue Devils 9-4 to lead 53-31 heading into the final stanza.

Penn State continued to add onto their lead early in the fourth quarter, building it to as big as 29, 66-37, with 4:35 remaining in regulation. The Blue Devils would end the game strong though, battling and outscoring PSU 10-8 over the final time frame to account for the 73-47 final decision.

The Blue Devils were stymied by the Lady Lion's defense as they only connected for 28.3% (17-60) of their shots from the field, including 31.8% (7-22) from beyond the arc. CCSU also hit six-of-12 (50.0%) of their attempts from the free throw line.

Epps led the way with 12 points followed by 10 from Musgrave as the only two scorers in double-figures for the Blue Devils. Epps was five-of-10 shooting from the floor, including two-of-three from distance. Musgrave hit four-of-10 shots from the field, including two-of-seven from long range.

Penn State shot 53.1% (26-49) from the field including 50.0% (5-10) from beyond the arc. They also went to the line 22 times in the game, converting 16 times, good for a 72.7% clip. The Lady Lions had four scorers in double-figures led by Whitted who finished with 15. Page (14), Candice Agee (13) and Kaliyah Mitchell (12) joined Whitted.

Central was out-rebounded 40-27 in the game. Malone led CCSU with eight and Whitted had 15 for Penn State to record a double-double with 15 and 15.

CCSU's defense was active, forcing 24 Nittany Lion turnovers which resulted in 15 points for Central, including 13 turnovers for 10 points in the first half. Penn State used a strong inside presence in the game and held a commanding 34-14 edge in points in the paint.

The Blue Devils will return to action next with their third and final game of a three-game road trip on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Maine. The Thanksgiving-eve contest is scheduled to tip-off at 12 p.m.