Senior Liza Clemons was the only Boilermaker in double-figures, finishing with 12 points and nine boards.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team suffered its fourth straight loss on Sunday, falling to visiting Penn State at Mackey Arena, 54-50. The Boilermakers made just 18-of-62 field goals (.290), marking their worst single-game shooting percentage of the season as they fall to 10-13 overall and 3-9 in Big Ten play.
It was all Boilermakers early as they took a 6-0 lead out of the gate and held the Lady Lions without a point for the first 5:30 of the game. However despite 12 first-half turnovers by Penn State, Purdue would lead by no more than seven points in the opening half, and a late flurry by the Lady Lions cut it to three at the break, 20-17.
Purdue pushed its lead back to seven in the opening minutes of the second half, but Penn State countered with a 12-2 run to take its first lead, 32-29, with 13:27 left to play. The Boilermakers answered with a 10-0 run of their own to return their lead to seven points with 10 minutes left in regulation, but made just four field goals the rest of the way, while going two-for-eight at the free throw line down the stretch. Penn State's 7-0 run tied the game, 39-39, and then the score went on to knot at 44-44 and 47-47 over the next five minutes. The Lady Lions took the lead for good on a jumper by sophomore Sierra Moore with 1:39 to play as the Boilermakers gave up a pair of late offensive boards and missed three of their last four shots to suffer the loss.
Senior forward Liza Clemons was the only Boilermaker in double-figures, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds, while classmate Whitney Bays had seven points, 12 rebounds three assists and three steals. Freshman Andreona Keys and junior April Wilson had nine points apiece, while sophomore Bridget Perry returned to the lineup for her first game since Jan. 8 at Maryland, and turned in six points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Lindsey Spann led Penn State with 16 points, while sophomore Keke Sevillian had 10 points and classmates Alex Harris and Kaliyah Mitchell had 13 and 12 rebounds, respectively. Penn State earned its first road win of the season, improving to 6-18 overall and 3-10 in conference play.
Purdue remains at home this week, hosting Northwestern on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. (ET) in Mackey Arena.