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From Mirror reports
QUEENS, N.Y. -- The Penn State women's basketball team improved to 4-0 Thursday night with a 69-53 comeback win at St. John's.
A combination of three Lady Lions in double figures, including Ali Brigham's 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals, produced a second-half offensive resurgence.
Makenna Marisa cracked two-digit scoring for the fourth consecutive game, scoring 15 points with 13 of them coming in the second half. Chanaya Pinto rounded out the trio of PSU players with her 12 points.
The second half proved to be essential for the Lady Lions, shooting at a high mark of 61% from the field including 63% shooting from 3-point distance after a 39% mark in the first half. Penn State outscored the Red Storm, 46-27, after the halftime break.
The senior forward from Franklin, Mass., Brigham, used her height and physicality to have a major presence on both sides of the ball. Her 7-of-11 shooting, coupled with her six boards, led Penn State to a dominant second-half comeback.
Marisa made a significant impact in the second half, scoring 13 of her 15 points in the final 20 minutes of the game. Her passing ability led to five assists while also collecting four rebounds. Pinto made some noise off the bench, notching her second performance in double figures with 12 on the night and 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
The Lady Lions continued to show their sharing of the ball emphasis, totaling 18 assists with 26 points of their bench full of depth. Leilani Kapinus' efforts on defense contributed three steals and three blocks and turned defense into offense for Penn State as she led her teammates to the basket with four assists.
Game notes: The two teams combined for just 14 free throw attempts with Penn State going just 3-for-4 from the line.
The Lady Lions plays Oklahoma State in a tournament in the Bahamas starting Monday.
PENN STATE (69): Marisa 7-16 0-0 15, Brigham 7-11 0-0 14, Kapinus 2-6 2-2 6, Valladay 2-5 0-0 6, Ciezki 1-5 0-0 2, Pinto 5-6 1-2 12, Lavelle 4-5 0-0 9, Murray 1-1 0-0 3, Oden 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 30-59 3-4 69.
ST. JOHN'S (53): Mayo 5-13 6-6 16, Drake 5-15 1-5 11, Archer 5-7 1-2 11, Brown 2-5 1-2 5, Donald 0-2 0-0 0, Owen 3-9 0-0 8, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Daye 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-55 8-10 53.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn State…………………….. 8 15 23 23 — 69
St. John's ……………………..11 15 13 14 — 53
3-point field goals: PSU 6-10 (Marisa, Valladay 2, Pinto, Lavelle, Murray); SJU 3-14 (Drake, Owen 2). Rebounds: PSU 34 (2 tied with 6); SJU 29 (Archer 10); Assists: PSU 18 (Marisa 5); SJU 9 (Mayo 5). Technical fouls: None. Attendance: 396. Officials: Billy Smith, Rod Creech, Karen Preeato.