BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The 13th ranked Northampton women's basketball team battled, but fell short against Penn State Lehigh Valley on Tuesday evening, falling 81 to 71 at the Arthur L. Scott Spartan Center. 

The Spartans, who led 34-32 at halftime, battled back from a 4th quarter deficit to take a lead, but the Lions used their pressure defense and up-tempo offense to pull away down the stretch. 

Raquel Costache (Bushkill, PA/E. Stroudsburg North) led Northampton with 17 points, Ashley Cyrus (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Wood) had 15 and Briona McClain (Tobyhanna, PA/Pocono Mt. West ) and Xion Spence (Bushkill, PA/E. Stroudsburg North) each added 10.  McClain hauled down a game high 26 rebounds, as the Spartans out-rebounded the Lions 58-45.

Northampton held Penn State to 31% from the field (27 of 87), but PSU's pressure defense forced Northampton into too many turnovers on the offensive end. 

The loss drops Northampton to 7-3 overall, while Penn State improves to 8-3.

The Spartans hit the road on Thursday, traveling to NJCAA Division II Lackawanna College for a 5pm matchup vs. the Falcons.