Box Score PHOTOS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Playing with just eight active players, the Sacred Heart women's basketball team put up a valiant effort in the Pioneers' non-conference finale, falling to Penn State, 88-65, on Sunday afternoon from the Bryce Jordan Center. SHU heads into Northeast Conference play with a mark of 3-8 on the season while the Lady Lions vault back over .500 to 6-5 in 2019-20.
Adrianne Hagood went off for 22 points (8-20 FG, 4-10 3FG), including nine in the fourth quarter alone, over 36 minutes as she put up her fourth 20+ point game in 10 appearances this season. Hagood's 22-point effort represents the most points scored by a Pioneer in a game against a non-Big East Power 5 school since Callan Taylor notched 24 on March 21, 2009 against Ohio State in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Jayla Davis (13 points, 7-8 FT) and Olivia Dabney (13, 3-6 3FG) also put up double figures for a SHU team decimated with injuries to five different players heading into this Sunday afternoon matchup. Also in the loss, SHU managed to match a season-high with 10 three-pointers and also committed a season-low 12 turnovers, winning the turnover battle 18-12 against PSU.
Also of note, the 23-point final deficit for SHU is made even more impressive as the Pioneers missed their first 11 shots and trailed 17-0 more than five minutes into play. From the 4:33 mark of the first quarter, SHU was only outscored by six against PSU (71-65) across the final 35:27 of play.
1st Quarter (24-7 PSU)
- The outcome was largely decided in the opening quarter as PSU jumped out to a 17-0 lead as the Pioneers missed their first 11 attempts from the floor and first five three-point shots as the Lady Lions spotted themselves a huge early advantage
- Davis broke the scoreless streak with a driving layup and went to the line to hit two free throws as SHU scored on consecutive possessions
- Smith hit a triple from the wing to cap the Pioneer scoring in the period but the Lady Lions had their best quarter of the game, going off for 24 points
2nd Quarter (46-25 PSU)
- Davis continued her early work on the offensive end as she hit another driving, scoop shot as she scored six of the first 11 SHU points
- Hagood later hit her first three of the game to cut the deficit down to 14 while Smith connected on a layup as the PSU lead was cut to 13
- With SHU clicking on offense midway through the quarter, PSU locked down on the defensive end and outscored the Pioneers by eight in the remainder of the first half to hold a 46-25 lead at the break
3rd Quarter (68-40 PSU)
- PSU scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half and built a 56-28 lead, two points off their largest of the game
- The Lady Lions' lead remained around 28 for the majority of the frame while SHU generated a large portion of their offense from the free throw line, hitting 6-of-8 from the line in the quarter
4th Quarter (88-65 PSU)
- Easily the most productive quarter of the game for SHU, the Pioneers outscored PSU 25-20 in the frame and hit on 6-of-10 from three-point range
- The 25-point quarter is the highest-scoring frame for the Pioneers all season
- Hagood scored nearly half of the SHU points in the fourth, notching 11 of the Pioneers' 25 points while going 3-of-4 from three-point territory
- As a team, SHU shot 52.9 percent (9-for-17) and committed just one turnover in the final 10 minutes of play
NOTES
- After recording a single-game high of 52 points over their previous four games, SHU crossed the 60-point mark for the first time in four games (66-60 win over Detroit Mercy on Nov. 29)
- SHU connected on 10 three-pointers, tied with their 10 threes made against Detroit Mercy for a season-high
- The 12 turnovers is a new season-best mark for the Pioneers as their previous low was 13 back on Nov. 24 at Stony Brook
- Hagood came into her junior season with four career 20+ point games and today's 22-point effort already gives her four 20+ point efforts in 10 games played this season
- After combining for 14 points over the last two games, Hagood's 22-point effort vaults her per-game scoring average up to 15.9 PPG
- Davis' 13-point effort came in just 17 minutes played and largely from the free throw line as she made 7-of-8 from the charity stripe
- This marked the fourth double digit point total over the last seven games for Davis
- In the last four games combined, Davis is 27-for-34 (.794 percent) from the free throw line while more than half (27 of 53) of her total points scored have come from the charity stripe
- Dabney logged 34 minutes (second-most on the team) while matching her career-high with 13 points (accomplished three times) on 5-for-12 shooting and 3-for-6 from the three-point line
- Dabney's three three-point makes equals a single-game career best (accomplished four times) while she added two blocks
- Dabney continues to lead the team in minutes (32.5 per game) and blocks (17) in 10 games played this season
- Allyson Murphy totaled six points (2-4 3FG) with four rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes as her six points scored is the second-most for Murphy in a game this season and the highest total since registering 10 in the season opener at Seton Hall (Nov. 6)
- Sonia Smith added seven points and six rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench as the first-year has at least seven points scored in three straight games
- First-year classmate Carly Stroemel tied Smith for the team-lead with six rebounds while adding four points, two assists and one block in a season-high 28 minutes
NEXT UP
The Pioneers head into their 21st season of conference play as a member of the Northeast Conference with a home matchup against new league member Merrimack on January 2nd. The 5:00 PM tip-off is part of a doubleheader with the SHU men's basketball team, who're also taking on Merrimack at 7:30 PM.
