WICHITA, Kan. – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers went into their Christmas break Saturday after concluding their three-game road trip with a 79-58 loss to North Dakota State at Wichita State's Shocker Winter Classic.
 
Marena Whittle scored a game-high 24 points for the Bison (3-8), while teammate Brooke Yaggie added 21 points for North Dakota State.
 
Lamaria Cole and Jeronia Allen scored 17 points apiece for the Lady Panthers, who fell to 4-4 after going 0-3 on their pre-holiday trip.
 
Allen made her first six field goals of the game, and finished the contest with a 6-of-7 showing from the floor; she made all three of her 3-point shots on Saturday.
 
Cole handed out five assists for the Lady Panthers; she also grabbed five steals, which matched her Prairie View A&M career high, set the day before against Wichita State.
 
Larissa Scott scored 12 points and blocked two shots, but was held to six rebounds, half of her season average of 12.6 heading into Saturday's contest.
 
The two teams played fairly evenly throughout the first half and the first four minutes of the third quarter. Trailing by three points at the half, PVAMU and North Dakota State traded baskets for the first few minutes after halftime; Scott's jumper in the paint cut the Bison's lead to 40-37 with 6:21 remaining in the quarter.
 
From there, however, the Bison put some distance between themselves and Prairie View A&M by finishing the quarter with a 10-0 run. North Dakota State took a 50-37 lead into the fourth quarter, and would not allow the Lady Panthers to cut the lead to single digits for the rest of the game.
 
The Lady Panthers return to action Monday, Dec. 29 when they conclude non-conference play at Texas A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
The Prairie View A&M men's and women's basketball teams open Southwestern Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 2, when they host Alcorn State. The women open the doubleheader with the Lady Braves at 5:30 p.m.