ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end on Monday evening, when the Lions lost 56-48 to NAIA opponent Carlow University in the Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (5-14) went into the fourth quarter with the lead, but Carlow (8-16) outscored the Lions 16-6 in the final period to escape with an eight-point win. Turnovers were key for Penn State Altoona, which committed 16 turnovers compared to Carlow's eight.

Megan Hartman (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) scored a team-high 15 points for Penn State Altoona to go along with five rebounds, two steals, and one block. Ellie Matthews (Kennett Square, PA/Kennett) added 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a block.

Emma Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) finished with nine points, five rebounds, and two steals, and Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) recorded seven rebounds, a game-high five assists, and five points. Emily Munson (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Regional) posted team-highs with eight rebounds and two blocks, and she also distributed three assists. Emily Marines (Nanty Glo, PA/Blacklick Valley) chipped in five boards, three assists, and three points.

Carlow's Megan Ost led all players in the game with 17 points while grabbing 11 rebounds, and Megan Lydon scored 12 points and had a game-high 15 rebounds. Sydney Carr also scored 12 points for the Celtics.

The visitors opened up a 5-0 lead a minute into the game following Lydon's three-pointer and Ost's layup, and another Ost layup at 6:23 put Carlow up 9-3. Penn State Altoona used a Kitko three-pointer and Matthews layup to narrow its deficit to one by 4:52, and Matthews' jumper at 2:40 kept the difference at one, 11-10. But Ost scored a jump shot and made a free throw within the final 2:12 of the quarter, and Carlow led 14-10 after one period.

After Hartman's trey in the first minute of the second quarter brought the Lions back to within one point, Carlow used a 7-0 run to grow its advantage to 21-13 by the 7:21 mark. Trailing by seven later in the quarter, Penn State Altoona used an Anaya Phillips (Middle Island, NY/Longwood) layup and four Hartman foul shots to make it a one-point game again, 23-22, with 1:46 until the intermission. But Carlow responded with layups by Shaelyn Clark and Carr late in the period to go into halftime with a 27-22 lead.

Penn State Altoona rallied to take the lead in the third quarter, during which it outscored Carlow 20-13. The Celtics got off to a strong start in the period, taking their largest lead of the game at the 7:49 mark, when an Angelica Orozco basket gave Carlow a 36-27 advantage. But three-pointers by Kitko and Hartman got Penn State Altoona back to within three, 36-33, and layups from KK Wolfe (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) and Munson put the Lions on top, 37-36. Huston's basket at 3:09 gave Penn State Altoona a 39-36 lead, and her deep three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Lions a 42-40 advantage heading into the fourth.

However, Carlow limited Penn State Altoona to just six fourth quarter points and regained its lead. Lydon's layup at 3:17 gave her team a 49-48 lead that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. Lydon's trey at the 34-second mark made it 52-48, and four foul shots by Ost within the final 22 seconds helped close out the game for the Celtics.

With its final non-conference game of the regular season now behind it, the Penn State Altoona women's basketball team will return its focus to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play the rest of the way. The Lions' next game is on the road this Wednesday, February 2, when they travel to Pittsburgh to face La Roche University at 5:30 p.m.