Women's College Basketball: Rider beats Penn; Temple wins

Penn coach Mike McLaughlin still is looking for his first Division I victory after the Quakers lost to Rider, 66-53, in a nonleague game yesterday at the Palestra.

After 14 seasons of success at Division II Holy Family in Northeast Philadelphia, the Father Judge graduate is trying to keep his players upbeat even though they are 0-8.

"It's increasingly hard when they're doing the best they can and they're competing the whole time and they're not getting results at the end," McLaughlin said. "What's unfortunate is I see what they're putting into it, I see what it means to them, and they're coming up short every time."

Kim Adams was the lone Quaker to score in double figures, with 19 points.

Cintella Spotwood scored 17 points for Rider (2-7), which also has been struggling.

The win was a homecoming of sorts for coach Lynn Milligan, who had coached against Penn as an assistant at both St. Joseph's and Drexel.

"I love playing in Philadelphia, and it's a bonus when you play in the Palestra," she said.

Two of Milligan's assistants also have local connections.

Pam Durkin was an assistant at Drexel. Rashanna Barnes was a star at West Catholic and Penn State, and also was an assistant at St. Joseph's.

Temple 68, Kent State 63 - The Owls (9-1), off to their best start since 1981-82, got a career-high 23 points from B.J. Williams in the nonconference win over the Golden Flashes (5-3) in Kent, Ohio. Jasmine Stone had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Kristen McCarthy scored 15 points.

Penn State 77, Pittsburgh 73 - Tyra Grant had 27 points and Meredith Monroe added 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Nittany Lions (7-3) over the No. 15 Panthers (8-1) in State College, Pa.

Elsewhere: Brittany Mallory scored 13 of her career-high 22 points as No. 3 Notre Dame quickly jumped to a 21-point lead en route to an 88-47 win over Valparaiso in South Bend, Ind. . . . Helena Sverrisdottir scored 20 points, and Texas Christian rallied from an 11-point deficit over the final five minutes to beat No. 10 Texas A&M, 56-54, in Fort Worth. . . . Kendel Ross scored a career-high 29 points, and No. 20 Dayton rebounded from its first loss as a ranked team with an 84-75 victory over Miami of Ohio in Oxford, Ohio. . . . Amanda Jennings had 24 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as host Rowan topped Aracadia, 68-63, in Glassboro. Justine Davis scored 17 points for the Knights. . . . Catherine Carr had 19 points as Holy Family beat Georgian Court, 71-55, in Northeast Philadelphia. . . . Erin Chesnavich had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the University of the Sciences in a 68-60 loss to Wilmington University in West Philadelphia. . . . Alyssa Brady scored 15 points as Cabrini beat Wilkes, 62-50, in the consolation game of the Elizabethtown College Tournament. . . . Yelissa Boyer scored 15 points as host Chestnut Hill got its first win of the season in a 60-54 win over Goldey-Beacom. Jacinda Jones scored 24 for the visitors.