UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A strong team defensive effort and a double-double from junior Kamaria McDaniel led the Penn State women's basketball team to a 64-44 win over Kutztown in an exhibition game Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State recorded 16 steals and forced 32 Kutztown turnovers. McDaniel tallied team-best marks of 25 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Shay Hagans led the squad with four assists and four steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lady Lions got out to a fast start, shooting 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from the field in the opening term. Six points from freshman Mya Bembry and baskets from five other Lady Lions helped Penn State work to a 16-3 lead eight minutes into the game. Kutztown added four more points in the frame, but the Lady Lions took a 19-7 lead at the end of the quarter.
- The Golden Bears opened the second stanza on a 7-0 run to trim Penn State's lead down to 19-14 at the 8:18 mark.
- A Siyeh Frazier jumper snapped the streak and ignited a 7-0 streak of Penn State's own over the next four minutes. The Lady Lions forced seven Kutztown turnovers in the final 6:36 of the first half as Penn State took a 31-18 lead into halftime.
- Five-straight points from McDaniel and a pair of Lauren Ebo free throws gave Penn State the first seven points of the third quarter as the Lady Lions pulled ahead 38-18. The teams were even for the rest of the term, adding nine points apiece, to keep the Lady Lion lead at 20 at 47-27 as the third quarter expired.
- Penn State made six of its first 11 shots in the fourth quarter to put together at 17-9 run that stretched the Lady Lion edge to 64-36. The Golden Bears scored the final eight points of the game, but Penn State walked away with the 64-44 victory.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Carolyn Kieger
- "I thought it was great to get out here coaching on this floor and get our feet wet a little bit. I think that the best thing about exhibition games is you get your routine down, your warm-ups, your time-outs, how everything works national anthem wise. I think that helped. You can obviously see a lot of nerves with our team tonight and it is my job to make sure that those get calmed down in three days so we have to fix that, but it was great. Coaching my first game at the Bryce Jordan Center with our players wearing that Penn State jersey is a special feeling."
- Full Kieger transcript
UP NEXT
- Penn State officially opens the season at Towson on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.
- The Lady Lions will make their home debut at 2 p.m. on Nov. 10 when Penn State hosts Rider.