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Not every win this season is going to be picturesque for the UConn women’s basketball team. There are going to be games where the second-ranked Huskies are going to have to overcome a series of shortcomings to prevail.

UConn did just that Thursday against No. 10 Penn State. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had a season-high 25 points, five rebounds and four steals to lead the Huskies to a 67-52 victory before 8,072 at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies shot 41.1 percent from the field and committed a season-high 20 turnovers.

Mosqueda-Lewis, who did not play over the final 22:45 against No. 9 Maryland Monday due to a left quadriceps contusion, was cleared to play following shootaround Thursday.

There were a combined 38 fouls called in a game that lacked flow for long stretches. UConn coach Geno Auriemma was hit with a technical foul with 19:27 left in the game.

Defensively, UConn (8-0) held Penn State (6-2) to 33.9 percent shooting and forced 26 turnovers. The Lady Lions committed five straight turnovers during a game-breaking 9-0 run by the Huskies in the second half.

Brianna Banks added 10 points for the Huskies. Bria Hartley had eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Breanna Stewart had seven points and seven rebounds.

The Huskies have defeated four ranked teams by an average of 24.0 points this season.

Maggie Lucas led Penn State with 15 points (5-of-12 FG).

STAR OF THE GAME: Mosqueda-Lewis. She scored 17 points in the second half to help the Huskies secure the win. She was 8-of-13 from the field (4-of-7 3-pointers) in a season-high 35 minutes. She fouled out with 56.2 seconds left.

KEYS TO THE WIN: Leading 42-36 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game, the Huskies forced five straight turnovers and scored nine straight points. Moriah Jefferson had four points and two steals in this stretch. Mosqueda-Lewis accounted for the other five points. It was ultimately a 20-5 run for UConn. … Banks continues to shine for the Huskies off the bench, seeing 18 minutes of action. … The Huskies trailed for only the second time this season in the first half. The final time was 18-16 with 9:22 left in the half. UConn then finished the half with a 12-4 run.

UP NEXT: Dec. 19 vs. Oakland at XL Center, 7 p.m. (SNY)

Rich

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Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis has eight points and Bria Hartley has six to lead the Huskies. Breanna Stewart has five points and six rebounds.

UConn twice trailed by two in the half (16-14, 18-16). But the Huskies finished the half with a 12-4 run.

UConn is shooting 38 percent from the field and has 10 turnovers. Penn State is shooting 30 percent with 11 turnovers.

Rich

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Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (quad) has been cleared to play tonight against No. 10 Penn State. She went through shootaround this afternoon without incident.

Mosqueda-Lewis was forced to leave Monday’s game against No. 9 Maryland with 2:45 left in the first half with a left quad contusion.

Rich

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No. 10 Penn State at No. 2 UConn women

WHEN: Tonight, 7
WHERE: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs (10,167)
RECORDS: Penn State 6-1, UConn 7-0
ON THE AIR: SNY (Andrew Catalon and Meghan Culmo); WTIC-AM 1080 (Bob Joyce and Debbie Fiske)
UP NEXT: Dec. 19 vs. Oakland at XL Center, 7 p.m. (SNY)

PENN STATE
Maggie Lucas, G, 5-10 Jr.: 23.8p on 16-of-23
3-pointers last four games
Alex Bentley, G, 5-7 Sr.: 13.0p, 3.3r, 6.0a, 3.7s last three games
Mia Nickson, F, 6-2 Sr.: Questionable to play after missing game vs. FDU Sunday (hip)
Darla Taylor, G, 5-8 Jr.: 10.5p, 4.5r, 4.0a last two games
Nikki Greene, F/C, 6-4 Sr.: 12.3p, 11.0r last three games
Talia East, F/C, 6-3 Jr.: Career-high 11p in first career start vs. FDU
Ariel Edwards, G/F, 6-3 Jr.: 12.3p, 3.8r last four games

UCONN
Bria Hartley, G, 5-7 Jr.: 8.0p (4-of-16 FG), 4.0a last two games
Kelly Faris, G, 5-11 Sr.: 11.0p, 5.3r, 4.8a, 3.8s last four games
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, F, 6-0 Soph.: Questionable to play (quad contusion)
Stefanie Dolson, C, 6-5 Jr.: 14.0p, 6.7r, 2.7a last three games
Caroline Doty, G, 5-10 Sr.: Season-high four rebounds in 19 minutes vs. Maryland
Breanna Stewart, G, 6-4 Fr.: Reached double figures in scoring in all seven games (16.3)
Morgan Tuck, F, 6-2 Fr.: 8.3p, 3.3r, 2.0a last three games
Moriah Jefferson, G, 5-7 Fr.: Season-low 3 min. vs. Maryland; Avg. 19.8 first six games
Brianna Banks, G, 5-9 Soph.: 15.5p (7-of-9
3-pointers) in 22.0 min. last two games
Kiah Stokes, C, 6-3 Soph.: 1.5, 2.0r in 9.5 min. last two games

STORY LINES
RETURNING: Mosqueda-Lewis was able to take part in functional drills as well as shoot at practice Wednesday. A final decision on her playing status is not expected to be made until after shootaround today.
END OF THE LINE: The Huskies will face their second top-10 opponent in four days. It will also be their sixth game in a span of 15 days. They will break for final exams after facing the Lady Lions.
CATCHING UP: Lucas and Doty were high school teammates at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pa., playing one season together in 2006-07. Doty finished her career with 1,165 points. Lucas graduated in 2010 ranked second all-time in school history — male or female — with 2,198 points.

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UConn and Penn State will meet during the regular season tonight for the first time since a showdown at the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden Dec. 14, 2008. This will be the first time, however, that either team will play at each other’s on-campus facility during the 28-year tenure of UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

The arrival of head coach Coquese Washington, a former player and coach at Notre Dame who is in her sixth season with the Lady Lions, has been a difference-maker. Auriemma and former Penn State coach Rene Portland did not see eye to eye after she would not play the Huskies in the late 1980s because she did not deem them to be a worthy opponent at the time.

Portland resigned after 27 years in 2007. Now the teams have a two-year deal in place, with UConn set to travel to Penn State next season. Both coaches would like to see the series extended.

“I think it’s a natural,’’ Auriemma said. “We’re both East Coast schools. Coquese recruits the kind of players that I would recruit. She does things the way I would do them. I really like her. I’ve gotten to know her as a person and certainly I’ve coached against her and she played against us. So I really admire her a lot. And I think it’s a great school. It’s a great institution. And, yeah, if that works out I would love for us to play them.’’

Said Washington: “We played a couple years ago at Madison Square Garden and now we’ve got the home-and-home. I know we’d like to continue it. We’ll have to see what the contracts and what-not look like. Hopefully, this can be the beginning of a pretty nice rivalry here on the East Coast.’’

The 12-day break between games will give Auriemma some time to check in on some recruits. A source said that he will visit Class of 2014 target Jordin Canada, a 5-foot-6 point guard from Los Angeles, and Class of 2015 target Katie Lou Samuelson, a 6-2 wing from Huntington Beach, Calif., Friday. He will then visit UConn 2014 commit Courtney Ekmark, a 6-foot guard from Phoenix, Saturday and Class of 2014 target Brianna Turner, a 6-3 forward from Pearland, Texas, Tuesday.

Rich