The sixth-ranked Lady Lions were upset by Miami (FL) 69-65 in last night’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge game. After trailing for the first 31 minutes, Penn State managed to battle its way back but could not pull out the victory in a game that was decided in the final seconds.

A shaky start by the Lady Lions had them playing catch-up for much of the game. After nine turnovers on its first 11 possessions, Penn State found itself in an early 8-0 hole. The Lady Lions would go on to turn over the ball 20 times in the first half, trailing Miami 36-29 at halftime after allowing a 7-0 run in the last two minutes.

However, the Lady Lions were able to clean up their game in the second half.  Though Miami matched any attempt by the Lions to close the margin with a run of their own, Penn State finally caught up and took a 53-49 lead on a 10-0 run with 8:22 left to play.

The game was back and forth from that point on — Miami broke a late 62-all tie with a three but Maggie Lucas responded with one of her own. The 65-all tie was then broken by a layup by Miami’s Suriya McGuire with 14 seconds left to play. Senior point guard Alex Bentley missed an attempt to tie, and two free throws by Miami with 2 seconds to go secured the victory for the Hurricanes.

The loss drops the Lady Lions to 5-1 on the season. They play Fairleigh Dickinson at home this Sunday.