ERIE, Pa. -- In a battle between two teams looking for their first win of the season, the Kenyon College women's basketball team (0-4) was on the road against Penn State Behrend (1-3). The Owls and Lions played an extremely close game, but Kenyon came up just short against PSUB for the second season in a row with a final score of 63-55.

The Owls dominated the boards, pulling down 44 rebounds compared to 34 for the Lions. Still, the Lions' intensive defensive pressure, primarily from the full-court press, resulted in 17 steals and 24 Kenyon turnovers.

Sophomore forward Mikayla Rudolph led all scorers with 14 points, only one off her career-high, and she contributed a season-high rebounds. Fellow sophomore Alexis Newman matched a career-high by scoring 11 points in a second straight game while dishing out a career-best five assists. Claudia Cooke stayed consistent with a dominant inside performance, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. Anissa Hardy also played a strong inside game with seven points and seven rebounds. 

The Owls were locked in on defense to start the game. Rudolph poked the ball away and went coast to coast by herself for a fastbreak layup two minutes in, and a three-pointer from first-year Melana Pomerants gave Kenyon an 11-4 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Lions responded by scoring seven straight points, but a jump shot from Rudolph with only three seconds remaining made the score 13-11 after the opening quarter. 

Penn State Behrend turned up their defensive pressure in the second quarter and built a 27-24 halftime lead by outscoring the Owls 16-11. However, Kenyon bounced back with a great third quarter, doubling up their opponents 16-8. Newman scored eight of her points in the frame, sinking two three-pointers and going 3-6 from the field. Grace Murphy drilled a triple just before the buzzer, making the score 40-35 in favor of the Owls heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter was competitive, but the Lions' offense exploded for 28 points, which proved too much for the Owls to overcome.

Both teams struggled from the three-point line, with the Owls shooting 7-28 (25 percent) while the Lions were 4-19 (21.1 percent). From the field, the Owls were 20-54 (37 percent), while the Lions were 21-58 (36.2 percent). The Lions had four players score in double digits, led by Rachel Majewski's 13 points. Kenyon converted 75% of their free throws, going 8-12 from the line, while Penn State Behrend drew more fouls and benefitted from a 17-28 mark from the charity stripe.

The Owls' next outing is a Tuesday night road matchup at Defiance College (0-4). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Defiance, Ohio.