| Mashea Williams came up big at crucial times Thursday, hitting several big buckets to keep Penn State ahead of Northwestern. The Lady Lions outlasted the Wildcats, 72-64, and moved into sole possession of seventh place in the Big Ten standings with the win. |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. February 23, 2006 - Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) tallied her fifth double-double of the season and the Penn State women's basketball team held off an energized Northwestern squad, 72-64, in front of 5,729 Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Brown scored 25 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Lady Lions, who improved to 12-14, 6-9. The win was an important one for Penn State, which moved ahead of Illinois and Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings into sole possession of seventh place. The Illini and Badgers now have identical Conference marks of 5-10.
Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) added 13 in the game and Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) chipped in 12. Northwestern's Ifeoma Okonkwo led all scorers with 27, but was the only Wildcat to reach double digits in the scoring column.
"This was a good win, a happy win," said Lady Lion head coach Rene Portland. "Thank goodness we can shoot free throws and get rebounds."
Although Northwestern was perfect from the free throw line, its five-for-five effort came up well short against Penn State's 28-for 38-mark, which provided a big difference in the game. Brown made 13 of her 15 attempts, and Gissendanner made four of her five to lead the way.
The stat line was also redemption for Brown, who saw limited time due to foul trouble in Penn State's earlier matchup with Northwestern.
"I remembered the last game," said Brown. "I wasn't happy. I wanted to go in to tonight playing hard. I had to focus and play hard."
Northwestern opened up the second half with five unanswered points in the first 51 seconds to slice into Penn State's nine-point halftime lead. Brown put an end to Northwestern's momentum, however, after she sunk a layup off a tricky up-and-under move at the 18:14 mark. The Lady Lions forced a turnover on the other end and converted it into a Williams jumper to quickly push their lead back up to 41-33.
Penn State held on to its cushion over the next couple minutes, but Northwestern scored nine straight points to tie the game at 50 points apiece with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. Sara Stutz sparked the spurt with a 3-pointer at the 11:46 mark, and then Okonkwo nailed a long jumper and two fast break layups to tie it up. Williams hit a free throw to end Penn State's skid, but Okonkwo again slipped free to reclaim the lead for Northwestern at 53-52. Gissendanner hit a jumper to push the lead back in Penn State's favor, but it was Okonkwo again who responded for Northwestern with a jumper to make it 54-53.
After two free throws from Brown, Williams hit a 15-footer as the shot clock went off on Penn State's next offensive possession to put Penn State up by three with just over six minutes remaining. The buzzer-beater brought the crowd to life, and sent a surge of energy into the Lady Lions who pushed their lead to five and forced Northwestern into a timeout with just under five minutes on the clock. Northwestern scored out of the timeout, but Brown was fouled on the other end, and converted the first free throw. She missed the second, but collected her own rebound, and was again fouled. This time the 6-4 junior sunk both free throws and Penn State went up, 64-58, at the four-minute mark. Northwestern cut the lead to four points on four different occasions after that, but Williams hit two baskets down the stretch to keep Northwestern at bay.
Penn State finished the last eight minutes of the first half on a 14-8 run to go into the break with a 37-28 advantage. Brown, who finished the first 20 minutes with a team-high 10 points, scored four in the run along with Williams.
Northwestern hung in with Penn State early, and led 9-8 after A.J. Glasauer drained a 3-pointer from the left baseline. Courtney Molinaro (Bethlehem, Pa.) hit two free throws to give Penn State back the lead, which the Lady Lions held on to for the rest of the half.
Penn State faces No. 6/7 Ohio State in the regular season finale at home on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game is "Fan Appreciation Day," and the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive the third set of player trading cards. To further say "thank you" to its super fans, Penn State will be giving away special prizes at timeouts and halftime, including a free trip to Florida on Spring Break.
Penn State is also running a special ticket promotion for that game - fans can bring any unused game ticket from earlier this season and exchange it at the ticket office for a general admission ticket into Sunday's contest. Fans who can't make the regular season-finale can catch it on TV; WPSU, CN-8 and CSTV will air it live, while FSN-Pitt will broadcast the game Monday at 1 p.m. As usual both contests will air on the Penn State Sports Network (WBUS and WMAJ locally) and GoPSUsports.com where a link to the GameTracker feature is available.
Single games tickets for Sunday's game 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 the Indiana Sports Corporation at (317) 237-5026 or justin.hirnisey@indianasportscorp.com.