Lady Lions Fall to Minnesota, 98-85
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Lady Lions Fall to Minnesota, 98-85

Despite Lindsey Spann’s 30-point game and a third quarter rally, the Lady Lions were unable to stop the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they handed Penn State their first loss in Big Ten Conference play on Sunday. Coming off of a 79-72 win against No. 14 Northwestern on New Year’s Eve, the Lady Lions went into their game against Minnesota with a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, after a slow start and a few rallies late in the second half, the Lady Lions efforts weren’t enough to earn a win in Minneapolis.

Minnesota opened the game with a 7-0 run against Penn State and kept the lead going after Minnesota guard Carlie Wagner drained three straight three-pointers to make the score 16-3 early in the first quarter. Penn State fought back throughout the end of the first quarter and into the second to end the first half trailing by six at 47-41.

Coming out of halftime, the Golden Gophers went on an 11-5 run and kept a comfortable lead through most of the second half. The Lady Lions saw a bright spot at the end of the third quarter as they trailed Minnesota by only two points, but Minnesota responded in the fourth with seven straight points to increase their lead and end the game 98-85.

Four players from the Lady Lions reached double-figures for the eighth time this season with Lindsey Spann leading the way followed by freshman guard Teniya Page with 16, redshirt senior Brianna Banks with 13 and junior forward Peyton Whitted with 10. On the defensive end, Whitted, Kaliyah Mitchell and Candice Agee lead the Lady Lions with seven rebounds apiece.

With the loss, the Lady Lions are now 9-4 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten Conference Play. They are headed back to the Bryce Jordan Center for a clash against Michigan State on Thursday, January 7th. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus as well as a radio broadcast on the Penn State Sports Network.