Missy Doherty's Nittany Lions (16-3) opened up a quick 8-1 lead over the Dukes, but would need a clutch showing to hold off the rally and advance.
The Nittany Lions are still winless in NCAA Tournament action, having lost in the first round of each of their four appearances.
Forget Wheaties, according to Mark Hall, pouring milk before cereal is the true breakfast of champions.
Penn State upset the Mountaineers 6-5 in Morgantown Tuesday before dropping a 4-2 contest the following night at PNC Park.
The Nittany Lions have struggled in 2017 to follow up its success from 2016, just barely sneaking into the Big Ten Tournament as the 12th and final seed. They'll face Nebraska in the opener Thursday at 1:30 p.m. on BTN.
Dubois batted .351 for the season, but really heated up for conference play with the Big Ten's third-best batting average of .457. She led the team in home runs (6) and on-base percentage (.448), while also bringing in the second-most RBIs on the team (29).