Abington, Pa. – The Penn State Abington women's basketball team was unable to overcome a second half offensive onslaught  Penn State Harrisburg in an 89-72 loss Sunday afternoon. Leading the way for the Abington Lady Lions was senior guard Trish Watson with 31 points and three assists.

With the loss, Abington drops to 8-10 on the season and 6-5 in NEAC conference play, while Harrisburg improves to 12-5 overall and 8-2 in the conference.

Abington trailed 47-40 at the half, but were outscored 42-32 in the second half. Harrisburg shot 50 percent from the field after the break, and also took advantage of its trips to the charity stripe, making 10-of-15 attempts.

With Harrisburg leading by as much as 14 points during the first half, Abington kept looking for ways to get back into the game. With a layup from Jaclyn Vandiver, followed by a pair of free-throws from Sheila O'Hagan at the 1:37 mark, Abington managed to cut the deficit to a single digit of just nine points.  Despite a three-pointer by Harrisburg's Mercedes Copeland a minute later, Watson was fouled twice and managed to make all five of the shots from the stripe to make a seven point margin before the break.

Harrisburg bolstered it inside game, crashing the boards with 24 total rebounds and scoring 20 points in the paint, with 18 of them from the bench. As the game winded down, Abington began to lose steam, shooting a merely 32.3 percent from the field. Watson executed her attack to the basket, scoring 11 out of the 17 points from the charity stripe during the second stanza.

With the score holding at 77-53 at the 9:24 mark, Harrisburg averted Abington's final counterattacks and held on for a 17-point lead the rest of the way.

Sophomore Jessica Schmidt scored 19 points and six rebounds on the night, while junior Janay Winston notched four points and three assists and came up with three powerful blocks.

The 1988 women's basketball team was honored at halftime of today's game. Formerly known as Penn State Ogontz, it marked the 25^th anniversary of when the women's basketball team won the Penn State University Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference championship. At halftime, each team member was introduced, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, recognizing their success.

Abington will look to rebound from the loss on Wednesday night when it takes on the Screaming Eagles of the College of St. Elizabeth. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Be sure to keep checking in here at abingtonsports.com for all your updates on Nittany Lions sports.