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From Mirror reports
UNIVERSITY PARK -- The Penn State women's basketball team, the No. 1 seed, picked up an 84-80 overtime win over George Mason in the Jordan Cent Thursday night in the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament.
The Lady Lions (20-12) will host Belmont on Monday night in the second round.
Penn State, which led 19-7 early in the first quarter, finished shooting 42 percent from the field and more than doubled George Mason up in the paint by a 50-24 clip.
This was the Lady Lions first overtime victory since the 2018-2019 season.
Redshirt-junior Leilani Kapinus led the squad on both ends of the court with her fourth double-double of the season. She had a career high 15 rebounds along with 13 points. Guard Ashley Owusu posted a team high 20 points to go with four boards and four assists. Senior forward Ali Brigham rounded out the trio Lady Lions in double figures with 15 points.
In the fourth quarter, the visitors grabbed a 12-point edge using a 3-pointer out of the break. Some back-andforth action was ended by four consecutive points from Owusu to pull back within seven before the media timeout. Jayla Oden brought the Lady Lions even closer, driving to the basket for a layup to complete the 6-0 run. George Mason managed a basket before sending Kapinus to the line where she hit a free throw. A stop on defense and a layup from Grace Hall got the crowd going and surged Kapinus to force a turnover on the other end of the court.
Kapinus pushed her way to the basket to notch her 10th point of the game to seal a double-double and the Lady Lions forced a shot clock violation on the other side of the court out of a timeout. Another trip to the free throw line for Owusu took PSU within one point at 66-65.
George Mason earned a pair of free shots to extend the margin back to three points, but a response from Owusu reversed it back to a one-point deficit at 70-69, with the Patriots ahead by one entering the final minute of play. In the final seconds, Kapinus drew a foul on the offensive end. She made one of her two to tie the score at 70-70 with 4.7 seconds on the clock. The Patriots advanced the ball using a timeout, and the Lady Lions drew a charge to get the ball back with .5 seconds on the clock. PSU could not convert, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Patriots won the tip and sank a long two-point shot to start the quarter. Owusu had the answer on the other end, and Penn State forced a turnover on defense to keep the ball in its possession. Oden earned two points from the free throw line to take the lead for the first time since the first half. Another defensive stop and an offensive rebound for Lavelle extended the lead to 76-72, and a second-chance layup for Pinto closed out the 8-0 run.
The Patriots pushed a three pointer across but Kapinus and Oden's two shots from the free throw line kept the lead with Penn State at a 82-77 clip. George Mason (23-8) hit another shot from deep to bring it back within two. With 16 seconds on the clock, Penn State used a timeout. Kapinus inbounded the ball to Brigham under the basket who laid it in. The Patriots advanced the ball using a timeout, but PSU drew a charge on the defensive end of the court. The ball stayed with the Lady Lions for the final nine seconds of play leaving the final score at 84-80.
GEORGE MASON (80): Suarez 9-15 0-0 24, Habib 6-15 1-3 16, Smith 5-17 1-2 13, Doster 1-4 1-2 3, Mitchell 0-7 0-0 0, Walton 9-16 4-5 24, Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Jameson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-81 7-12 80.
PENN STATE (84): Owusu 7-16 5-9 20, Brigham 7-12 1-1 15, Kapinus 4-6 5-8 13, Ciezki 3-8 0-0 7, Pinton 2-3 0-0 4, Marisa 2-5 2-2 8, Oden 1-1 4-4 6, Murray 2-4 0-0 5, Lavelle 1-3 0-0 2, Campbell 1-2 0-0 2, Hall 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 31-63 17-24 84
SCORE BY QUARTERS
George Mason 20 19 19 12 10 - 80
Penn State 21 13 15 21 14 - 84
3-point field goals: GMU 13-35 (Suarez 6, Habib 3, Smith 2, Walton 2); PSU 5-15 (Owusu, Ciezki, Marisa 2, Murray). Rebounds: GMU 38 (Doster 7); PSU 47 (Kapinus 15). Assists: GMU 19 (Saurez 6); PSU 16 (Owusu 4). Technical fouls: Owusu. Attendance: 1,635