LORETTO -- After a taxing series of losses on the road, what the Lady Lions needed was a win over the lowly Saint Francis Red Flash (2-3) last night.

But with a small but steady gang of red-clad roudball rooters supporting them in a tiny gym on the campus here, Saint Francis stormed to a second half rally that catapulted them over Penn State, 74-69, last night in before a crowd of 1,049 in DeGol Arena.

As the night moved forward, there was a sense of predestination surrounding this Saint Francis team that kept creeping its way to the forefront. The Red Flash got the friendly roll from the rim. Their post-players began hoisting -- and making -- 3-pointers. They out-muscled, out-hustled and out-shot the Lady Lions (4-4), who continued their skid.

The Penn State dropped its fourth consecutive game and succumbed to Saint Francis second-half charge. The Red Flash, a dismal 4-24 last season, were led by senior guard Christie Ayers, who finished with 16 points. Amanda Brown led for Penn State with a game-high 22 points.

And though the Lady Lions tried to claw their way back, as the cheers of Lets Go Flash cascaded down, it was a pair of Ayers free throws with 13.7 seconds that sealed the game for Saint Francis.

"They did a really, really good job of staying on the attack mode," Penn State head coach Rene Portland said. "We never really got anything in synch for ourselves."

Penn State shot only 37.5 percent in the second half and struggled to get in synch offensively, as Saint Francis used 6-foot-3 center Beth Halter to stymie Brown, who only attempted nine field goals (8-for-9). Senior forward Charity Renfro had a career-high 10 points and added eight rebounds.

"You could tell she was getting frustrated out there, that's what we wanted," Halter said of Brown. "We wanted to frustrate her and take her out of the game."

To start the game Saint Francis jumped to an early lead but a portion of the first half quickly erupted into something of a scoring duel with Penn State pulling forward.

The Lady Lions clamped down defensively. They employed a full-court press at times, stole the ball nine times and induced Saint Francis into 15 first-half turnovers.

Still, Penn State shot 50 percent (3-for-6) from behind the 3-point line in the first half. And the Red Flash were even more impressive at 71.4 percent from deep (5-for-7).

The 3-for-all highlighted the opening half just minutes into it, when junior Lady Lions guard Adrienne Squire and senior Saint Francis forward Danielle Hibbard traveled up and down the floor, exchanging 3-pointers. In the minute-long sequence, Squire nailed three 3-balls and Hibbard hit two from deep on consecutive possessions. Squire finished with 18 points last night.