Ava Black Set Three Career Highs. Penn State Lost to Cleveland State Anyway.

Ava Black played 39 minutes on Monday night and walked off with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Her points, rebounds and assists were all career bests, per Penn State's recap. It was the sophomore guard's first career double-double.

Penn State lost 62-61 to Cleveland State at the Bryce Jordan Center. In the opener. At home.

So which part do you hold onto?

Start with Black, because she earned it. Ten rebounds from a guard is real work, and Penn State won the glass 45-41 as a team. She also hit four of her eight threes, according to ESPN's box score, including one from well beyond the arc with five seconds left that kept the Lady Lions alive.

Here's the part that's less fun. She went 4-of-14 from the floor, which means every one of her field goals was a three. Inside the arc she was 0-for-6 by our calculation: four makes minus four threes, 14 attempts minus eight threes. That's not a knock on the night. It's the thing to watch next.

And the loss is the loss. Penn State had one last possession down one and couldn't get a shot off, per the school's recap. That's the first game of the Tanisha Wright era, and it got away against a Cleveland State team that won't be confused with a Big Ten opponent.

Yeah, but it's one game. Nobody should write off the season or crown Black off 39 minutes. The test is Saturday at Cincinnati, 2 p.m. ET. If she's carrying that kind of load again, the real question is whether anybody else can help her turn it into a win.