WASHINGTON, D.C. - Penn State Harrisburg's women's flag football team split a pair of United East contests at Gallaudet's Hotchkiss Field on Saturday afternoon, March 28. The Lions fell to the hosts 34-20 in their opener before responding with a 12-0 shutout victory over Cairn in their final game of the day. 


GAME 1
Penn State Harrisburg (3-1, 2-1 United East) suffered its first loss of the season in Saturday's first matchup, with the hometown Bison (5-0, 3-0 United East) using a big first half to jump out to a sizable lead before holding off the Lions after the break. 


Gallaudet scored the only touchdown of the first quarter and led by as many as 27 points before Nadia King connected with Jordan Carpenter for a long touchdown on a slant route just before halftime. King and Carpenter connected again early in the third quarter, this time for a 66-yard touchdown, and Carpenter eventually hit Mi-La Guest for a five-yard touchdown that made it a two-score game early in the fourth quarter.


Grace Kurtz came up with a timely interception deep in Gallaudet territory on the next Bison possession, returning the pick to the GU 13-yard line but Penn State Harrisburg was unable to convert the turnover into points. From there, the home team used a couple of methodical drives to bleed the clock and hang on for the victory. 


GAME 2
The Lions (4-1, 3-1 United East) used a pair of second-half touchdowns to win a defensive struggle over Cairn (2-2, 2-2 United East) and leave our nation's capital with a shutout victory in their final game of the day. 


King connected with Guest for a 12-yard touchdown to put Penn State Harrisburg on the board late in the third quarter before a three-yard touchdown pass to A'Jewelle Murphy late in the fourth put things out of reach for good.


NOTABLES
- Carpenter racked up 144 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five receptions in the opener.
- King threw for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns in game one. 
- Azaria Bryant Franklin finished with eight tackles against Gallaudet.
- King threw for two more touchdowns and 86 yards in the second contest. She also rushed 14 times for 90 yards. 
- Guest and Murphy each caught a touchdown in the win over the Highlanders. 
- Kurtz had five tackles, including 2.5 for loss, in the final game. 


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions begin their second round of conference play when they travel to Keystone on Wednesday night. 


STAY CONNECTED 
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.