Penn State doubles Niagara's points, improving to 4-0 on the season

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -The Lady Lions finished their Field Trip game with their fourth win of the season, beating Niagara with the score of 101-45.

Opportunities for the younger players arose today with a full team effort on and off the court.

Penn State came out very strong this morning after a tough game against Duquesne just two days ago, where they had to fight back from an 18-point deficit to come out with the win.

The Lady Lions avoided that issue early this morning against Niagara, where Moriah Murray got Penn State on the board first, with a three from the corner.

However, Niagara kept it tight early in the first quarter, matching Penn State’s points in the first few minutes of the game.

Penn State quickly changed this close game narrative, by using Gracie Erckle as a target, allowing her to use her body, and finish the game with a team-high of 24 points.

Niagara faced foul trouble early in the game, restricting them from playing as aggressively as they’d like to. Three of their players earned three fouls before we reached the half.

Penn State set the tone very early finishing the first quarter, doubling Niagara’s points with the score being 33-13 heading into the second quarter.

Carolyn Kieger, Penn State's head coach, established a strong substitution pattern for the team, making frequent subs and getting a lot of her younger players in the game. This kept the Penn State team fresh and got a lot of players on the board early. The bench scored 33 points for the Lions.

“It was great that we were able to get our whole team out there for some minutes – Our leaders did a great job of having juice on the bench when what we call the ‘game changers’ went in,” Kieger said.

At the end of the first half, Penn State led Niagra 57-20.

The Lady Lions have only faced Niagara twice prior to their meetup today, where they defeated the Purple Eagles on both occasions.

Entering the second half, Penn State's ball distribution allowed them to stay dominant, as the Nittany Lions were consistently finding the open player and taking open shots.

Penn State maintained their lead in the third quarter, 79-39.

Penn State's defensive performance was no different than their offensive one, as they were just as dominant on the other side of the ball with 46 rebounds compared to Niagara’s 24 while forcing 42 turnovers.

“This team is selfless, they love each other – in order to get you got to give,” Krieger said.

Niagara was unable to find their footing today, reaching 45 points by the end of the fourth, but ultimately couldn’t get their shots to fall in the basket.

Quick transitioning was vile for Penn State, often passing it from the opposite baseline over the half allowing them to drive to the basket for easy layups.

By the end of the fourth quarter, Penn State was able to surpass 100 to solidify the win.

Penn State will next face Monmouth at home.

Kylie Smith is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email her at kls7170@psu.edu.