UMES STANDS TALL TO #17/18 PENN STATE BUT FALLS 76-51 DAVE WHIGHAM DECEMBER 11, 2011 Team equaled Penn State's rebound total of 46 STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Sophomore forward Shanyce Stewart (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) tallied 10 rebounds, three steals and eight points but it was not enough as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team dropped a 76-51 decision to No. 17 Pennsylvania State University before 3,386 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon. UMES (2-5) came out of the gates against PSU (8-3) with authority. Although the Hawks were at a strong disadvantage in height, they collected the same number of rebounds (46) and had four more steals that Penn State. "I like the effort we gave and the way we started the game by putting points on the board," said head coach Fred Batchelor. "However, that became the problem; we were not able to continue to put the ball into the basket. Going in to Penn State having 22 offensive rebounds and only 13 turnovers, those are categories that you need to win a game. We needed to shoot better from the floor in the second half." The Lady Hawks and Lady Lions traded baskets through the first seven minutes of play before junior guard Sha-Kiyla Finney (Portsmouth, Va.) drilled a three-pointer to give UMES its second lead of the contest, 18-17. Penn St. would take control of play for the next six minutes as the Lady Lions used a 9-4 run to take a 28-22 lead with 6:22 left in the first. The Maroon and Grey cut PSU's lead to four several times over the next few minutes but the Lady Lions would go on to post their second big run of the half. UMES' deficit went to seven points, 33-26, with just over two minutes remaining but would score a pair of baskets to bring the contest closer. Penn St. used a 10-6 scoring advantage over the last four minutes of the first to take a 10-point lead at intermission. UMES and PSU opened the second evenly as the 10-point advantage held true until PSU used consecutive baskets by Alex Bentley and Maggie Lucas to take a 17-point lead after six minutes in the second. A jumper by senior forward Adobi Agbasi (Columbus, Ga.) brought the game back down to 15 points but it proved to be as close as the Hawks would get the rest of the way. PSU would go on to score the game's next seven points en route to taking a commanding lead, 61-39, with just over 10 minutes remaining. Despite a tenacious UMES defense that forced 13 turnovers, the Lady Lions would advance the margin several points before the contest concluded. The women were hurt by a 7-for-39 performance from the floor in the second frame. UMES was led by the efforts of Stewart and senior guard Amber Cook (Greensboro, N.C.), who notched nine-rebounds and a team-high 12 points. Senior forward Chelsea Sanders (Rochester, N.Y.) had four rebounds and six points, while Agbasi had eight points and three blocks in the losing effort. Penn State had three players tally double-digits in the game, led by Maggie Lucas. The sophomore guard had a game-high 20 points while Bentley had 11 points and nine assists. Ariel Edwards chipped in with nine rebounds and Nikki Greene had 13 points. UMES looks to get back to its winning ways when the women travel to Towson University on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.