Steve Connelly

Former Penn State women’s soccer captain Nickolette Driesse took her first steps toward the professional game on Thursday as she was selected No. 32 overall by the Orlando Pride in the fourth round of the 2017 National Women’s Soccer League Draft.

Penn State (11-5, 1-3 Big Ten) traveled to West Lafayette, Ind., coming off its first Big Ten win of the season against Iowa. Purdue (11-6, 2-1 Big Ten) also grabbed its first Big Ten win in its last time out on the floor as the Boilermakers took down Michigan State. The Lady Lions had nothing…

Penn State (10-4, 0-2 Big Ten) traveled to New Jersey for its second conference clash of the season, where host Rutgers (4-11, 1-1 Big Ten) hoped to pick up its scoring — averaging just 48.8 points per game. The Scarlet Knights did so, shooting almost 50 percent from the field and keeping the Lady

Despite a positive first quarter, Penn State didn’t have enough to keep up with the hot-shooting Hoosiers in the first Lady Lion loss at the Bryce Jordan Center this season.

Penn State got off to its best start to a season since the 2012-13 season — getting through non-conference play with a 10-2 record. In fact, the Lady Lions have more wins outside the Big Ten this season than in the last two seasons combined.

Penn State (10-2) closed out non-conference play on Tuesday as it hosted Iona at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Gaels (6-5) hoped to keep momentum going and secure a fifth win in their last six games, but the Lady Lions used a strong offensive performance in the first half to grab the win, 80-67.

With a 30-point effort against American on Sunday to help the Lady Lions to their fifth-straight win, the sophomore out of Chicago has scored 30 or more three times in her career, becoming the second Lady Lion to do so before the end of her sophomore season.