CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Penn State women’s basketball team dropped a road contest at Illinois on Thursday night, 67-55.

The Lady Lions led after the first and third quarters in a game of six lead changes and three tie scores.

The Lady Lions fell to 10-15, 1-13 in the Big Ten, while the Fighting Illini improved to 20-5 and 10-4.

Gracie Merkle produced her second-straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for PSU, and Gabby Elliott’s 16 points led PSU.

As a team, the Lady Lions put up 34 points to Illinois’ 24 in the paint, and they also dominated the glass, grabbing rebounds at a 43-34 clip.

PENN ST. (10-15): Hall 2-8 2-2 6, Merkle 7-13 1-1 15, Murray 3-4 0-0 8, Santana 1-8 0-0 2, Walker 1-3 0-0 2, Rust 0-0 0-0 0, Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Elliott 6-16 2-3 16, Oden 3-9 0-0 6, Steele 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 23-62 5-6 55

ILLINOIS (20-5): Bostic 6-14 0-0 12, Shoup-Hill 0-3 4-4 4, Brown-Hagger 3-7 2-2 10, Bryant 6-15 2-2 18, McKenzie 7-16 5-10 19, Wallace 1-4 0-0 3, Allen 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 23-59 14-20 67

Penn St. 20 12 16 7 — 55

Illinois 18 17 8 24 — 67

3-Point Goals–Penn St. 4-12 (Murray 2-3, Santana 0-4, Walker 0-1, Elliott 2-3, Oden 0-1), Illinois 7-18 (Bostic 0-2, Brown-Hagger 2-4, Bryant 4-9, McKenzie 0-1, Wallace 1-2). Assists–Penn St. 12 (Oden 3), Illinois 13 (Bryant 6). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Penn St. 43 (Merkle 10), Illinois 34 (Bostic 8, McKenzie 8). Total Fouls–Penn St. 15, Illinois 7. Technical Fouls–None. A–3,983.

Flash beaten

LORETTO — Stonehill shot 48.2% from the field (27-of-56) and swept the season series from Saint Francis with a 74-43 victory at the DeGol Arena in women’s basketball.

Brooke Paquette went 8-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point land, and 4-of-4 at the foul line to score 23 points for the Skyhawks.

The Red Flash, who were outscored 19-6 in the third quarter, shot 34% from the field and were out-rebounded, 39-22. Marissa Shelton scored 18 points for Saint Francis.

STONEHILL (74): Paquette 8-8 4-4 23, Hayward 5-12 2-2 13, Swider 5-11 2-2 12, Stapleton 2-3 2-2 6, McLaughlin 0-4 0-0 0, Sias 4-7 5-6 14, Wheeler 2-2 0-0 4, Delaney 1-5 0-0 2, Mallory 0-2 0-0 0, Arca 0-2 0-0 0, Webster 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 27-56 15-16 74.

SAINT FRANCIS (43): Shelton 7-10 1-1 18, Gibson 2-3 2-2 6, Plata 1-4 2-2 4, Boyd 1-12 0-1 2, Artero 1-2 0-0 2, Robinson 3-6 0-0 7, Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Campbell 1-4 0-0 2, Eke 0-3 0-0 0, Lavy 0-1 0-0 0, Daffe 0-1 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 17-50 5-6 43.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Stonehill 19 14 19 22 — 74

Saint Francis 16 10 6 11 — 43

3-point goals: Stonehill 5-13 (Paquette 3-3, Sias 1-1 , Hayward 1-5, Stapelton 0-1, Delaney 0-1, McLaughlin 0-2); Saint Francis 4-11 (Shelton 3-4, Robinson 1-3, Lavy 0-1, Boyd 0-3). Assists: Stonehill 17 (Hayward 7); Saint Francis 8 (Boyd 3). Rebounds: Stonehill 39 (Swider, Sias 7 each); Saint Francis 22 (Eke 6).

Records: Stonehill (11-12, 7-3 NEC); Saint Francis (9-15, 7-4 NEC).

PSU Altoona downed

PITTSBURGH — The Penn State Altoona women’s basketball team was on the road to face AMCC opponent Carlow University, and the Lions fell, 65-56.

Penn State Altoona (10-12, 7-6 AMCC) worked its way out to a 27-23 lead at the end of a low-scoring first half. But Carlow (11-9, 9-4 AMCC) outscored the Lions 15-8 in the third quarter to take the lead.

Madison Rusnica scored a team-high 16 points for the Lions while adding five rebounds, two assists and one block. Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood-Antis) added nine points and seven rebounds, while Jess Burns chipped in eight points.

Avana Sayles posted team highs for Penn State Altoona with 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks to go along with seven points. Raniyah Green also scored seven points, and Jordan Bisignani scored five points off the bench while dishing out a team-best six assists.