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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Despite a late comeback attempt inspired by senior guard Jayla Oden, the Penn State women's basketball team lost its first game of the season, falling 72-67 to the St. John's Red Storm Monday night at the Jordan Center.
Penn State fell to 8-1 while St. John's improved to 7-1.
Up 19-15, St. John's took control of the game in the second quarter and wound up with a 39-35 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, St. John's went on a 9-0 run at one point to go up 52-41 on the Lady Lions.
Behind Oden, Gabby Elliott and Gracie Merkle, Penn State closed the gap with a 6-0 run, but the Red Storm withstood the run and led, 58-52, going into the final frame.
There, Oden and Alli Campbell hit buckets to help the Lady Lions cut the deficit to five at one point. With 1:37 to go in the game, Penn State had it down to three points at 70-67 but got no closer than that in the end.
Individually, Oden led the way a career-high 24-point outing while redshirt sophomore center Merkle poured in 13 points and graduate guard Elliott contributed 12 to round out a trio of Lady Lions in double figures.
St. John's picked up a win in the field goal battle by a 50-48 percentage point margin, with the Red Storm picking up an additional 22-14 win in the turnover battle.
The Lady Lions hauled in a 33-25 victory in the rebounding battle, outrebounding their opponent for the ninth consecutive game.
Penn State hosts Indiana Saturday at 1 p.m. to begin Big Ten play.
ST. JOHN'S (7-1): Gedeon 1-4 0-0 2, Lavelle 4-7 1-1 10, Dwyer 10-15 5-6 25, Mayo 4-7 1-2 10, Owen 2-5 0-0 4, Blagrove 1-1 0-0 2, Wingate 0-0 0-0 0, Donald 5-8 0-0 11, Vanderhoop 3-13 0-0 8, Totals 30-60 7-9 72
PENN ST. (8-1): Merkle 6-7 1-1 13, Campbell 3-8 2-2 8, Elliott 5-10 0-0 12, Murray 2-6 0-0 5, Oden 8-13 7-8 24, Hall 0-4 0-0 0, Johnson 0-2 3-6 3, Steele 1-1 0-0 2, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 25-52 13-17 67
SCORE BY QUARTERS
St. Johns 15 24 19 14 -- 72
Penn State 19 16 17 15 -- 67
3-Point Goals--St. John's 5-19 (Gedeon 0-1, Lavelle 1-2, Dwyer 0-3, Mayo 1-2, Owen 0-1, Donald 1-3, Vanderhoop 2-7), Penn St. 4-13 (Campbell 0-2, Elliott 2-4, Murray 1-4, Oden 1-2, Hall 0-1). Assists--St. John's 15 (Dwyer 5, Lavelle 5), Penn St. 12 (Murray 5). Fouled Out--St. John's Owen. Rebounds--St. John's 25 (Dwyer 6), Penn St. 33 (Elliott 7). Total Fouls--St. John's 19, Penn St. 17. Technical Fouls--None. A--1,759.