FREDRICK, MD – In their final game before the New Year, the Penn State Abington women's basketball team traveled to Hood College, but couldn't come away with a victory in a 62-50 loss on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions drop to 6-3 for the season.

Junior Shayna Rodriguez (Philadelphia, PA) toped the scorers again with 26 points and seven rebounds. Senior center Grace Dewey (Falls Church, Va.) was the only other Nittany Lion to hit double-digit scoring with 11 points.

In the hotly contested first quarter neither team could pull ahead by more than a bucket until Rodriguez pushed the Nittany Lions to a 10-6 lead with her jump shot. In the final minutes of the quarter the Blazers strung together two baskets to tie the game before the break.

In the second quarter the game remained close throughout with each team trading shots.  With three minutes left in the half Hood held a small 18-16 lead over the Nittany Lions, but the hosts charged out in front with a 10-2 run right before the half ended.

Senior Symantha Marrero (Philadelphia, PA) kicked off the scoring in the third quarter with her three-ball to energize the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions clawed their way back into the game only down by two points  Another big 12-3 run by the Blazers helped them pull ahead again in the third quarter. Even though the Nittany Lions outscored Hood in the third quarter, the hosts held a 42-34 lead.

The Blazers earned tough points in the paint in the fourth quarter to hold off the Nittany Lions.

Abington will ring in the New Year when they travel to Clarks Summit on Tuesday January 2, at 6:00 p.m.