Lady Lions Rally for Thrilling Victory Over Orange

Story posted November 22, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Micheal Bolger

The Penn State Nittany Lions won a thriller in the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday against Syracuse. Down by 21 in the third quarter, Shay Ciezki helped the Lady Lions fight back into the game and eventually win 82-69.

Both teams came into the game undefeated after playing all out-of-conference teams to open up the season. This was Syracuse's first road game of the season and it started off as great as any team could hope for.

The Orange opened up the beginning of the game going six-of-seven from three, jumping out to a 13 point lead over the Blue & White. Dyaisha Fair and Teisha Hyman had 10 points apiece in the first quarter and by the end of the game, Fair would have 20 and Hyman with 19.

Going into half the Lady Lions were down by 18 and had nothing going for them on offense. Penn State was 9-36 from the field, with 16 of their 21 first half points coming off of turnovers from Syracuse.

“We were just running around and playing selfish basketball in that first half,” Penn State’s head coach Carolyn Kieger said. “The ball just seemed to stick in one person's hand.”

After half would be a whole different story for the Nittany Lions as they came out of the locker room with a different kind of energy. “Our game changers came into the game and really changed the momentum of the game,” Coach Kieger said.

Syracuse would extend their lead to 21 with eight minutes left in the third quarter, but that is when Penn State would begin to climb back into the game. It would start with Anna Camden, who hit a three point jumper, followed by a lay up by Ali Brigham and another three pointer from Ciezki.

After that, both teams would go shot for shot to end the third quarter 55-45, Syracuse leading. It wouldn’t take long for the Nittany Lions to heat up again, going on a 9-2 run in two minutes to cut the Orange’s lead down to three.

Syracuse would not give up the lead without a fight, going shot for shot again with Penn State. Then for the first time in the entire game, the Lady Lions would take a one point lead with six minutes left to go in the fourth.

A three pointer from Alaina Rice would give Syracuse the lead again. That’s when the Bryce Jordan Center packed with Penn State fans got on their feet and started to rally behind their team.

After the three pointer from Rice, Penn State blew the game open and scored 21 points while holding Syracuse to only nine points in the final minutes of the game. “Different people stepped up in different moments and it was just a huge team win,” Coach Kieger said.

Penn State will remain unbeaten and move onto 5-0 on the season. The Lady Lions will hit the road for the first time this season to Daytona Beach, Fla. to take on Toledo in the Daytona Beach Invitational on Friday.

Syracuse will receive their first loss of the season as they fall to 4-1 and will head back home to take on Bucknell on Friday.

Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.