HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team was handed a tough defeat on Monday night, when the Lions suffered an 86-82 overtime loss to non-conference opponent Juniata College in the Memorial Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (0-2) overcame a slow start and a halftime deficit to seize a lead in the fourth quarter. But Juniata (1-0) tied the game at the end of regulation, then outscored the Lions 13-9 in the overtime period to finish with a four-point win over Penn State Altoona.

Avana Sayles (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) scored 17 points for Penn State Altoona while grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. Jaidyn McCracken (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) also had 17 points while blocking two shots, and Madison Rusnica (DuBois, PA/DuBois) provided 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals off the bench.

Raniyah Green (Hillside, NJ/East Orange/Hillside) finished just shy of a double-double, recording nine points and eight rebounds to go along with two blocks and a game-high five steals. Rakaya Cooper (East Orange, NJ/East Orange) also scored nine points while securing six boards and registering three steals, and Jordan Bisignani (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) totaled seven points, six rebounds, and a team-leading four assists.

Juniata's Bri Bodtorf led all scorers with 25 points. The Eagles also got 20 points and 11 rebounds from Haily Sherman and 17 points from Steph Emert.

The Lions got off to a sluggish start in the first quarter, during which Juniata was able to open up a 10-point lead. Sherman and Bodtorf made two baskets apiece early in the period, helping the Eagles start on an 8-0 run, and a Sherman three-pointer at 6:36 gave the home team an 11-2 advantage. Emert's trey at 5:17 boosted Juniata's lead to 14-4, and her layup and foul shot at 3:53 kept the difference at 10, 19-9. Penn State Altoona closed the gap to five, 23-18, by the quarter's end, helped by buckets from Cooper, Jess Burns (South Fayette, PA/South Fayette), Green, and McCracken.

Penn State Altoona carried its momentum into the second quarter, when jump shots by Sayles and Green and Bisignani's three-pointer and free throw trimmed the Lions' deficit to three, 29-26, by the 6:11 mark. Burns connected on a three ball at 4:12 to keep her team within three points, 34-31, and Rusnica's three-point play at 1:27 had the Lions within four, 39-35. But Bodtorf tacked a pair of foul shots on to Juniata's total, and the Eagles went into halftime with a 41-35 lead.

The Lions outscored Juniata 20-17 in the third quarter, when they made their way back to within three points of the Eagles' lead. Scores by Sayles, Green, and McCracken made it a one-point game, 46-45, nearing the midway point of the quarter, but Juniata used a 6-0 run to increase its advantage to seven, 52-45. Rusnica scored Penn State Altoona's final 10 points of the period, totaling three free throws, two layups, and a three-pointer to get the Lions back to within three, 58-55.

Juniata started the fourth quarter with baskets from Bodtorf and Sherman, boosting its lead back to seven points, 62-55. But layups from Cooper and Bisignani, along with a Bisignani free throw, got Penn State Altoona's deficit back down to three, 63-60, by 5:03. Sayles' jumper and two foul shots made it a one-point game, and Cooper's free throw at 2:36 knotted the score at 65-65. McCracken hit a three-pointer at the 1:26 mark to give the Lions a 68-67 advantage, and a Rusnica free throw 21 seconds later put Penn State Altoona up by one again, 69-68. After Juniata sank three foul shots to reclaim the lead, McCracken connected from long distance again to give the Lions a 72-71 lead with 21 seconds remaining. Sayles' free throw made it 73-71, but Juniata came back to get the tying basket from Sherman as time expired, sending the game to overtime with a 73-73 tie.

Overtime started with a flurry of scoring from both teams, including a three-pointer by McCracken and jump shot by Sayles, but Juniata put 11 points on the board over the first half of the period to establish an 84-78 lead. Free throws by Rusnica and Halle Kuzminski (Warren, PA/Warren) preceded a Kuzminski layup that made it a four-point difference, 86-82, with 16 seconds to go. But time ran out on Penn State Altoona's comeback hopes, and the Lions lost by four.

Penn State Altoona won the turnover battle, committing 11 compared to Juniata's 17 giveaways. The Lions also held a 27-13 scoring advantage in bench points.

Penn State Altoona is back on the road for its next game, as the Lions head to Williamsport to take on non-conference foe Lycoming College this Wednesday, November 13, at 6 p.m.