The No. 7 seeded Berkeley College New York women's basketball team fell short in its quest for a National championship, falling to the No. 2 seeded Nittany Lions of Penn State Beaver by a score of 81-55 on Thursday evening. The game was played on the campus of Penn State Fayette, and served as a rematch of last year's thrilling quarterfinal round contest that saw the Knights outlast the Nittany Lions in overtime in a game that finalized at right around 1:00am. With the loss, the Knights will play in tomorrow's consolation game against Southern Maine Community College at the Maltho arena at 2:00pm.

Berkeley College missed its first six shots from the field and trailed 5-0 in the early stages of the opening session, but a 14-1 Knights run over a span of 4:23 put the Knights ahead 14-6 with 12:24 remaining in the half. That spurt included seven points by USCAA Second Team All-American Champagne Hazel. After Penn State Beaver's Morgan Kurtz converted on a layup to slice her team's deficit to six, point guard Janay Thomas connected on a long three-point basket to give the Knights their largest lead of the game – a nine point advantage (17-8).

The Nittany Lions would kick it into gear at that point, scoring 11 straight points to leap ahead 19-17. That stretch included a pair of free throws and a triple by Kurtz, a Cassandra Flowers basket, another layup by Kurtz, and a Khalia Adams hoop. At that juncture, Penn State Beaver held a two-point advantage with 7:37 left in the first half. The teams traded the lead three more times over the ensuing 5:04 before Adams nailed a triple to give the Nittany Lions a 27-25 lead. Penn State Beaver would outscore Berkeley 6-1 for the remainder of the opening session to take a 33-25 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half it was all Penn State Beaver, as the Nittany Lions held the Knights to just eight field goals for the entire session while connecting on 20 of their 40 shots (50 percent) to run away with the victory. Penn State Beaver also out-rebounded the Knights 30-12 in the second half, including a difference of 10-2 on the offensive glass. The Nittany Lions led by as many as 29 at one point before eventually winning the game by 26.

Despite the loss for the Knights, Champagne Hazel drained four three-point baskets – and eight of her 20 shots overall – to finish with a game-high 21 points. She also snatched six rebounds and contributed three assists, as well. Janay Thomas added 14 points, a game-high eight assists and seven rebounds, and Patricia Patterson finished with totals of 10 points and seven rebounds. Finally, it was Jasmine Sanders netting eight points.

In the victory for Penn State Beaver, Cassandra Flowers scored a team-high 18 points while grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds (including six on the offensive glass). She also connected on eight of her 17 shot attempts for the evening. Morgan Kurtz and Asia Borders added 12 points apiece, and Brittany Jackson posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 caroms.

Penn State Beaver's conversion rate for the evening was 44.4 percent (32-72), while the Knights hit on only 18 shots for the night (18-63, 28.6 percent). The Nittany Lions dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Knights 66-36, while also dishing 20 assists to Berkeley's 14. Penn State Beaver also owned the paint, scoring 50 of their 81 points there while the Knights recorded just 18.

To follow the Knights in tomorrow's consolation game, visit the USCAA website – www.theUSCAA.com. Live statistics, audio, and video streaming will be available for select games by visiting the aforementioned link. Recaps of all Berkeley College contests will be available by the Knights' athletics website at http://berkeleycollegeknights.com.