Cornhuskers keep Lady Lions winless in conference play
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Penn State Lady Lions won their first eight games to start the season, expectations in Happy Valley were soaring.
Since then, the Lady Lions have been in a funk, dropping five of six outings and were off to a winless start in Big Ten Conference play.
On Sunday, Penn State’s woes continued as it lost a 72-61 decision to Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb. The Nittany Lions (9-6, 0-4 Big Ten) got solid performances from Alli Campbell, who scored a game-high 19 points, and Gabby Elliott, who added 14 points and six rebounds.
The Cornhuskers (11-4, 2-2) took control of the game late with a 13-2 run over the final 3:56. The Lady Lions didn’t help themselves by committing four turnovers in the last 4:13.
Campbell scored five points and Gracie Merkle added four points in the first quarter as Penn State trailed 13-9 early. The Lady Lions trailed 30-25 at the break as Campbell hit for five more points and Elliott added four points.
In the third quarter, Campbell scored seven points but the Lady Lions were outscored 23-15 and trailed 53-40. Elliott pumped in nine points in the final stanza but the Lady Lions dropped the road contest.
Nebraska was led by Callin Hake, who scored 16 points, and Britt Prince and Alexis Markowski, who each added 13 points.
Penn State shot 39.3 percent from the field and was outrebounded by a 46-37 margin. Merkle finished with seven boards.
UP NEXT
Penn State hosts Oregon on Thursday, looking for that elusive first conference win. Nebraska welcomes Michigan State on Wednesday.