The Penn State DuBois Women's basketball team opened their 2023-24 campaign Saturday afternoon as they faced a ranked team in the USCAA, Villa Maria College from Buffalo, NY.  Villa Maria entered the game ranked #14 in the Pre-Season USCAA National Coaches Poll.  Penn State led throughout the contest, but Villa Maria made a torrid run in the fourth quarter to force overtime.  At the end of the day, the Lady Lions (1-0) pulled off an overtime upset by the score of 63-59 against a very talented and athletic Villa Maria (0-1) squad.

The Lady Lions were led by freshman Natalie Bowser's (Keystone) triple-double of 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots. Frances Milliron (Clarion-Limestone) contributed with 13 points and 5 assists.  Joining them was Rebecca Martin (Northern Potter) 7 points and 5 rebounds and Tara Leamer (Purchase Line) also hauled in 8 rebounds.

Head Coach Pat Lewis said, "We played at a high-level tonight especially in the first half.  Every one of our players played extremely well against a quality opponent.  Every time Villa would get on a run, somebody would step up. Natalie set two school records in her first college game with 31 points (previous record of 30) and 11 blocked shots in a game," he added.  Penn State DuBois controlled the boards as they outrebounded Villa Maria in the contest.

DuBois returns to action with PSUAC conference games at home on Friday, November 17th and Saturday, November 18th against Penn State York and Penn State Mont Alto.  Friday's game has a 6:00 start and Saturday's tip-off is at 1:00.