Back in front of its home crowd, Penn State was slow from the start.
The Lady Lions were held scoreless through the first few minutes to open the game in what was an 8-0 run in favor of Minnesota that sparked the visiting Gophers to a resounding 91-71 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State was forced into contested shots due to Minnesota’s switching matchup 2-3 zone.
Coach Coquese Washington called a timeout midway through the first which seemed to spark a run for the Lady Lions.
The Lady Lions were able to finish the quarter trailing 25-19, thanks to well-paced offense and 7 points from Amari Carter as well as 5 from De’Janae Boykin.