Lady Lions rally from behind to beat Duquesne

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Entering their matchup against Duquesne on Nov. 10, Penn State had won their last 13 non-conference regular season home games. After the matchup, the Lady Lions had extended that streak to fourteen with a 92-83 win over the visiting Dukes.

The final score does not tell the final score, however, as the Dukes held an 18-point lead in the first half and even held the lead at halftime and well into the third quarter. “Obviously I have a ton of respect for Duquesne and Dan Burton, and what he’s done.

Just can’t say enough about their team, so kudos to them, that’s gonna be a great team, which is gonna end up to be a huge win for us down the stretch,” Lady Lions head coach Carolyn Kieger said at her postgame press conference. “That team’s going to win a lot (of) ball games.”

The Dukes came out the gate swinging, breaking out to an 11-4 lead making three of their first four threes and four of their first five shots, all within the first two minutes. “They started off hot from three,” Keiger said, and that extended throughout the first half. The Dukes held their largest lead of the game, 30-12 with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.

However, in the second quarter, the Lady Lions came roaring back. With just under six minutes till half, they went on a 12-0 run to bring the game within a point. Kieger did not see a specific moment that sparked the run, seeing it as more of a team-driven grind. “Honestly, I think it was just a collective after that first time out I called,” she said. “I thought we really kind of regained that and it was just a slow momentum build for the rest of the game. It wasn’t one big play or one big moment, but I think it was us just chipping away.”

The third quarter saw the Lady Lions grab their first lead of the game off a Gracie Merkle layup at the 7:40 mark. Another turning point came at the 4:10 mark in the third, where Tamera Johnson and Duquesne’s Gabby Hutcherson picked up dueling technical fouls, which seemed to spark the Lady Lion bench. Johnson was a huge component of the Lady Lions coming back.

She had 17 points and made three three-pointers, her biggest contribution, however, was on the defensive end. Kieger talked about her saying, “I thought the player of the game was Tamera Johnson. It was her defensive intensity, her seven rebounds, her confidence, getting those loose balls. She had some timely rebounds, some timely hustle plays, I thought she really set the tone for us and was a huge spark for us off the bench.”

The other key player for the Lady Lions was Moriah Murray. Murray had 26 points including six threes on ten attempts. The Pennsylvania native continued to wow her coach and continued to step up both on and off the court.

When discussing today’s comeback, she said “Confidence helps us (Tamera) can say the same thing and our teammates have that trust in us so when we tell them something, then I think that’s something that really helps us.”

The Lady Lions move to 3-0 and will return to action at home on Nov. 14 against Niagara.

Nate Johns is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jzn5275@psu.edu.