UNIONTOWN, PA. -- A 21-7 run over a nearly eight minute span of the second half proved to be the deciding blow for the Apprentice School on Wednesday afternoon as they lost 68-60 to Penn State Beaver in the opening round of the USCAA Nationals in Uniontown, Pa.

With the loss, the Apprentice School (16-9) will drop into the consolation bracket to face the host Penn State Fayette at 3 pm on Thursday.  A pair of wins in the consolation bracket will give the Lady Builders ninth-place in the event.

A close first half saw five ties in the first 10 minutes as the Lady Builders took a 20-19 lead on a Courtney Collins layup with 5:48 left.  The Nittany Lions went on a 10-3 run to take a 29-23 lead on a Jasmine Green layup with 90 seconds left.  A layup from Tyisha Battle put the Lady Builders to within four at 31-27 heading into halftime.

In the second half, a Jasmine Pringle 3-pointer brought the Lady Builders to 36-31 with 16:13 left.  From there, the victors went on the 21-7 run over the next 7:34 to take their largest lead of the game at 57-38 on a pair of Shelby Parks free throws with 8:39 left.  Apprentice School cut it down to six at 66-60 on a 3-pointer from Ashley Johnson with 19 seconds left, but a pair of Jasmine Green free throws gave the final of 68-60.

Johnson was the leading scorer with 16 points, while Tamara Davis had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Apprentice School.  Green was the leading scorer for Penn State Beaver with 23 points.