| Amanda Brown tallied a double-double in her second straight game to help Penn State battle Minnesota down the stretch on Sunday. The Lady Lions put forth a tough effort in front of a near-capacity crowd before falling, 77-72. The Lady Lions return home Thursday and Sunday for home contests vs. Michigan and Purdue. Both games are "white-outs," and fans should wear white to show their Lady Lions pride. |
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. January 29, 2006 - Penn State battled back from a 13-point deficit and pushed No. 14/12 Minnesota to the brink on its home court before succumbing to the more experienced Gophers, 77-72, in front of 11,529 Sunday evening at Williams Arena.
Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) and Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) each scored 18 for Penn State. Brown tallied her second-straight double-double with 11 boards, and Big Ten assist leader Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) dished out six assists, passing the century mark in her young career. Jamie Broback put in 25 for Minnesota while April Calhoun added 13.
The Lady Lions held a 68-67 lead with just over two and a half minutes to play after O'Rourke sunk a free throw to break the tie. Minnesota then scored five straight points before Adrienne Squire (Indianapolis, Ind.) cut the lead to three on a driving floater with 41 seconds to play. The Gophers weren't perfect down the stretch from the charity stripe, but hit enough of their free throws in the final minute to escape with the narrow victory.
Penn State falls to 9-11, 3-6 with the loss while the Gophers improve to 15-4, 7-1. Penn State still owns a commanding 19-4 all-time record vs. the Gophers, but will not get a chance to avenge the loss this season, as today's game was the only scheduled meeting between the two programs this regular season.
Broback scored the Gophers' first 12 points of the second half, but Penn State answered her every time and stayed even with Minnesota though the first five and a half minutes.
The Lady Lions eventually sliced into the six-point halftime lead when O'Rourke hit a driving layup with 14:17 left to go in the game. The basket came after Courtney Molinaro (Bethlehem, Pa.) made an acrobatic save off a missed Gissendanner shot, calling a timeout as she fell out of bounds. Penn State came out of the timeout and scored on the ensuing play. Minnesota answered with a 3-pointer, but Penn State did not back down and after Gissendanner hit a 3-pointer, Minnesota missed its shot on the other end and O'Rourke found a streaking Brown on the fast break who stuck in the layup to make it 54-52 with 12 minutes to play. Minnesota missed its next shot attempt, Gissendanner snagged the rebound and O'Rourke lobbed a soft touch pass to Brown to tie the game at 54-54 with 11 minutes on the clock. O'Rourke gave Penn State the lead and then extended it to four with four straight free throws.
Minnesota, which hadn't scored for over five minutes finally broke the ice with two Liz Podominick free throws with 8:34 on the clock and then tied the game at 58 when Shannon Bolden sunk a layup with 7:04 to play.
The teams battled down the stretch exchanging seven leads in the last seven minutes. The freshman O'Rourke kept Penn State steady, scoring nine of her 11 points in the second half, and tallying four of her six assists after the break.
Minnesota got its near-sellout crowd in the game early with two 3-pointers in the first three minutes. With Gopher head coach Pam Borton motioning to the crowd to get even louder, Penn State went to its captains, Brown and Gissendanner, to quiet the fans. The duo responded with seven points, including a Gissendanner 3-pointer. Still, the Gophers built an early 16-7 lead five minutes into the game and appeared poised to pull away.
Penn State did not back away, and Squire swished a 3-pointer and Gissendanner and Brown each chipped in a bucket to make it 16-14 with 13 minutes left to play in the period. Penn State could not keep up the pace, however, and Minnesota held the Lady Lions scoreless over the next five and a half minutes while building a 27-14 lead.
O'Rourke ended the drought with a basket at the 7:47 mark, and fellow freshman Williams scored three straight buckets, including a coast-to-coast layup off a steal to slice into the lead. Charity Renfro (Las Vegas, Nev.) added an eight-foot jumper and Brown turned a nice move into another basket cutting the lead to 32-26 and forcing Minnesota to call a timeout with 3:36 remaining to regroup. The two teams played evenly down the stretch and Penn State went into the break down, 39-33.
After four road contests in the last five games, Penn State returns home. First the team squares off against Michigan at 7 p.m. on Thursday and then takes on rival Purdue at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both games are "white-outs" and Penn State fans should wear white to support the Lady Lions and show their Penn State pride.
Single games tickets for the Lady Lions are still available. Tickets can be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket windows weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fans can also get tickets by calling 800-863-3336 or 865-5555 locally or visit www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics. Tickets are also available by visiting the Downtown Ticket Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, and at the HUB ticket booth at the information desk. For groups of 10 or more, ticket discounts and preferred seating options are available by calling (814)863-6757.
Fans interested in buying all-session tickets for the NCAA First and Second Round Games at the Bryce Jordan Center on March 18 and 21 should contact the Penn State ticket office at 1-800-863-3336 or 814-865-5555. All-session tickets will gain the bearer entry to all three sessions. Adult all-session tickets for the six-game, two-day event are available for $42. Penn State students, youth under 18 and senior citizens (60 or above) can purchase tickets for only $18. Fans may also purchase tickets by downloading a ticket brochure and returning the adjoining application to the Penn State ticket office at the address provided. The brochure, and additional information on the NCAA Tournament Games at the Bryce Jordan Center are available online at http://www.gopsusports.com/BasketballW/NCAATourney/
Big Ten Tournament tickets are on sale now as well. To get tickets now, Penn State fans can go through the Penn State box office. Fans can also buy all-session tickets through Ticketmaster for $55 at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone numbers (570) 693-4100 in central Pennsylvania) or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
For group ticket information and a group order form, contact Justin Hirnisey of Indiana Sports Corporation at (317) 237-5026 or justin.hirnisey@indianasportscorp.com.