BRYN MAWR, Pa. – The Owls played their second game of the season on Saturday against Penn St.-Berks in the Class of 1958 Gymnasium. Sophomore Jess Smith led her team once again with 20 points while sophomore Hannah Binder and senior Sydney Collins followed up with 11 and 10 respectively. The score remained close throughout, but the Owls finally managed to pull away mid-way into the third quarter to claim a 55-48 victory.

The Nittany Lions came out with a strong offense in the first quarter. After missing their first two shot attempts, Hailey Miller grabbed the first two points of the day for Penn St.-Berks on foul shots. Four minutes into the game, the Owls had their first opportunity to get on the scoreboard. First-year Hannah Govert seized on a Nittany Lions turnover and immediately passed to sophomore Kris Pasia. Pasia quickly drilled the ball down the court, and after a few Owls passes, she once again took possession. At the arc, Pasia attempted a three-pointer, but it only caught the rim and fell into the hands of a Nittany Lion. Less than a minute later, the Owls were back again after regaining possession from another turnover.  Five quick passes between the Owls gave Binder an opening. Rushing the net and taking a spin, she took a jump-shot, but it didn't quite find its way in. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to four after a jump shot by Miller. The Owls found themselves with three scoring opportunities. Senior Allana Mora-Mickens and sophomore Sena Kaper-Dale each attempted a shot near the net, but it was not until the ball was handed to Pasia who was just inside the arc that Bryn Mawr finally found the basket. Binder quickly followed up with a jump shot to tie the game. In the final three minutes of the quarter, Penn St.-Berks extended their lead to two. However, the lead only lasted for a few seconds. Pasia took the ball down the court and quickly found Govert. Standing right behind the arc, Govert drilled the Owls' first three-pointer of the game. Although the Owls briefly took the lead, the Nittany Lions found three more points to end the quarter ahead.

The score remained static for the first minute and a half of the second quarter without many good offensive opportunities for either team. Mora-Mickens made an offensive rebound and managed to find Collins near the basket, who shot a two-handed layup to tie the game. The Owls extend their lead to three after a layup, followed by a free throw by Binder to finish the three-point play. Nittany Lion Lyla Spencer repeated Binder's play to tie the game once again (12-12). Both teams traded points for the remainder of the quarter, and the half ended 19-19.

The score remained close throughout the first half of the third quarter, with the Owls and Nittany Lions trading points. Finally, at 23-23 the Owls broke the tie with a layup from Smith and Pasia and a free throw from Smith. Penn St.-Berks managed one layup throughout the rest of the quarter, but the Owls continued to make baskets to extend their lead. The quarter ended with the Owls holding a 12 point lead a surge of confidence as they headed into the final frame (37-25).

Junior Sonja Meijer made her first shot of the game early in the fourth quarter to extend the Owls lead to fourteen. Although Miller made a three-pointer for the Nittany Lions, Meijer made strong use of two free throws, making both. Two swift three-pointers from Penn St.-Berks cut the Owls lead to just six. A missed free throw from the Nittany Lions landed in the hands of Collins, who quickly passed to Govert. She took the ball down the court and after multiple passes between Pasia and Smith, Smith finally found her opening. Shooting from the left side of the arc, she sank her first three-pointer of the game. Smith made a jump shot and two free throws to further extend the Owls lead to eight (50-42). After a lay up from Binder, Smith secured the Owls advantage with her second three-pointer of the night (55-46). The Owls defense held strong throughout the rest of the quarter, allowing just one Nittany Lions layup. Bryn Mawr took their second win of the season (55-48).

The Owls will play their first away game of the season on Tuesday against the Mighty Macs of Immaculata.