STATE COLLEGE, PA – The Syracuse women’s basketball team fell to Penn State Monday night 82-69. Its first loss of the season comes against a still-undefeated Penn State squad that took advantage of a barrage of mistakes late in the game.
The Orange headed into the half up 41-23. A win was within reach. However, the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, saw the Orange collapse on both ends of the court.
Syracuse committed 19 turnovers total, with five of them coming in the fourth quarter alone. Teisha Hyman committed a whopping eight of the Orange’s 19 turnovers.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Orange had managed to hold onto a 55-45 lead. This season, the Nittany Lions hadn’t scored more than 22 points in a quarter thus far, but the Orange defense fell apart, allowing 37 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Shay Ciezki came alive in the fourth, taking advantage of every weak spot in the Orange’s defensive scheme. She put up 13 points in the fourth quarter. Makenna Marisa was the facilitator for much of the Nittany Lions' offense in the last 10 minutes of the game but also contributed to the offensive spark that allowed her team to surge ahead.
Dariauna Lewis was uncharacteristically quiet for the Orange. She had recorded a double-double in every game this season before last night. The Nittany Lions were clearly prepared, though, and held Lewis to just four points. She did, however, record nine rebounds, hovering around her season average.
Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack chose to remain optimistic about the team’s outlook during her post-game media availability.
“We’re going to get better. We’ve got a lot of season left,” said Legette-Jack. “We’ve got a lot of film to watch for sure.”
She also acknowledged that while her team did underperform down the stretch, it allows for improvement going forward.
“So many people are going to get better from this game,” said Legette-Jack. “Just looking forward to watching film and seeing how I can get better first, and how we can get our team better.”
The Orange are back in action in the JMA Wireless Dome on Friday. They’ll face Bucknell, a team that is 2-3 on the year. Tipoff is set for 7:00.