Women's Basketball Slips by Penn State 88-87

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Alana Beard scored 21 points to lead a crop of freshmen who provided the bulk of the scoring as No. 3 Duke beat No. 9 Penn State 88-87 Monday night.

Lisa Shepherd banked in a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left to bring the Lady Lions (2-1) within a point. Duke's Rometra Craig, also a freshman, was fouled and missed both free throws. But she rebounded her own miss and held the ball as time expired.

Duke (4-0) got 53 points from four freshmen, including Beard, Iciss Tillis (16 points), Craig (12) and Chrystal White (four).

Shepherd led all scorers with 27 points. Maren Walseth added 17 and Jessica Brungo had 12 for Penn State, which lost its home opener for the first time since 1988, when Pittsburgh beat the Lady Lions 74-70.

The score was tied at halftime, but Tillis keyed an 11-5 run, hitting a 3-pointer and scoring a fast-break basket off a steal, to put the Blue Devils up 47-41 with 17:17 left.

Penn State briefly regained the lead, but a 3-pointer by Craig and a three-point play by Beard put the Blue Devils up 72-66 with 8:25 left. The Lady Lions tied the game at 74-74 with 6:18 left, but another three-point play by Beard gave Duke the lead for good.

Sheana Mosch scored 14 points for Duke, and Georgia Schweitzer had 13.

Duke trailed by as many as 10 points early, but a 13-3 run, including six points from Mosch, tied the game 28-28 with 2:46 left in the half. The score was 36-36 at halftime.

Penn State raised last year's Final Four banner before the game. The Lady Lions went 30-5 last year and reached the Final Four for the first time.