Tough loss for Lady Nittany Lions
Dubois, PA - All season long, the Penn State Fayette women's basketball team has shown signs of growth, especially when you consider how young the team is. However, the team hit a massive speed bump with a last-second loss Tuesday night at Penn State DuBois, a team that Fayette beat 92-61 three weeks prior.
"We went into the game overlooking them and they jumped out on us," said head coach Scott Hillen. "We made a nice comeback and had a good lead late, but we made multiple mental mistakes and missed a few easy layups to put the game away. Our mental mistakes gave them the opportunity to beat us, and they did."
Fayette trailed by as many as 14 points.
Up five points, 67-62, with 31 seconds to go in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) game, DuBois (14-9 overall, 9-7 PSUAC) outscored Fayette (16-7, 11-5) 7-1 in those 31 seconds to pull out the improbable win.
DuBois raced out to a 25-16 lead and held a 42-30 lead at halftime. Fayette had a 21-12 advantage in the third to cut the DuBois lead to 54-51 heading into the fourth, and Fayette appeared to have control late. However, things were not meant to be and the hosts pulled out the win.
Fayette only shot 27% (21-78) for the game and 13% (3-23) from beyond the arc while DuBois shot 35% (25-71) from the floor and 24% (5-21) from three-point range.
Taylor McCormick (Laurel, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt HS) led Fayette with 22 points, Kaitlyn Riley (Charleroi, PA/Charleroi HS) added 21 and Dae-lin Burnsworth (Monarch, PA/Connellsville HS) finished with 15 while Brooke Poling (Perryopolis, PA/Frazier HS) had 11 rebounds. Lexey Shick led DuBois with 22 points.
Fayette closes the regular season Friday when it hosts Penn State Beaver (20-4, 16-0). Tipoff is 6 p.m.
For more information on the men's basketball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/wbkb/index or follow us on Instagram @fayetteathletics.