After the women's lacrosse team put on an offensive showcase in the first half, its performance in the second turned almost as cold as the weather.

But Loyola's inspired comeback proved too little too late and the Lady Lions held on to win, 9-7, on the frigid turf next to Holuba Hall.

It was a tale of two halves. Penn State forged a 7-1 lead on 50 percent shooting. Donna Bucci, Lori Fitzgerald and Christy Sansone all notched two goals each.

The defense stifled the Greyhound's patented fast break and held them to seven shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper Kay Young made five saves in the first half and 11 overall.

"In the first half we did a lot better job (neutralizing the break,)" senior attacker Deanna Blood said. "We did a lot better double-teaming through midfield so they couldn't move the ball as quick. That's what they like to do -- run-and-gun."

It was Loyola's first game of the season. Loyola Coach Julie Aikens attributed some of her team's first half mistakes to inexperience and youth.

"They should remember that feeling of what they felt this first half," Aikens said. "And they better never, ever want to have that again because it was sickening to me and I know to them, too."

Apparently that negative feeling had an immediate effect judging by the second stanza's offensive output. Loyola scored six goals to Penn State's two. The Lady Lions' defense played more apprehensive and tried, almost too hard, to force the turnover.

"All they had to do was remain a little bit calmer on defense," Coach Julie Williams said. "Suddenly, we were panicking a little bit, going for these wild checks, missing the girl, and she's going wide open to the goal, instead of playing a nice patient, pressure, helping defense."

Offensively, Blood's two goals in the second proved to be the difference.The game looked to be over when Blood scored her second of the period with just under six minutes to go to make the score 9-5. But two Loyola goals 32 seconds apart, including one by Colleen Anderson, put the score at 9-7 with 1:28 to go. Anderson had four goals on the day.

"We definitely could have used five more minutes," Aikens said. "And I would have probably bet my life savings that in five more minutes we would have won the game."

"You got to be happy with that," Williams said. "(We) hung on and played awesome defense in the last minute-thirty when it really counted. That's what you have to do."