Ohio State Too Much For Lady LionsOhio State Too Much For Lady Lions

Ohio State Too Much For Lady Lions

Penn State's Big Ten Tournament run ended too early for Brianne O'Rourke, but the freshman point guard had a stellar year, leading the Big Ten in assists and earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

INDIANAPOLIS; March 3, 2006 - Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) scored a game-high 15 points, but the deep Buckeyes proved too much for Penn State in the 2006 Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals, Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Ohio State pulled away with the 64-46 win despite getting just six points from Big Ten Player of the Year Jessica Davenport. The 6-5 center played only 19 minutes, but a host of other Buckeyes picked up the scoring load, with nine other players scoring in all.

For Penn State, Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) added 10 points and Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in nine. Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) turned in another strong performance off the bench, contributing eight points. Gissesndanner's output gave her a 16.5 ppg average for the Tournament to lead Penn State.

Penn State reached its goal in limiting Davenport, but could not get going offensively.

"The energy was simply not the same as last night," said head coach Rene Portland after the game. "Ohio State came out aggressive and played stifling defense. Our offense never got going."

Ohio State turned the tables on Penn State early, opening the game on a 16-5 run, Less than a week ago, the Lady Lions hosted the Buckeyes in the regular season finale, starting the game on a 19-3 run. Penn State chipped at the lead, and drew a second foul on Davenport with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half and Ohio State ahead, 20-9. Davenport left the game for the rest of the first half and Penn State initially took advantage of Davenport's absence while Ohio State sputtered, going silent for almost three minutes. On the other end, Penn State's Williams continued to shoot the ball well from the free throw line, sticking two attempts. Williams, who entered the tournament with a .574 average, went 8 for 8 from the charity stripe in Penn State's two Big Ten Tournament Games.

After Williams' free throws, O'Rourke converted a driving layup and Brown added another inside shot to slice the lead to 20-15. Ohio State finally scored at the 8:20 mark when Brandie Hoskins sunk a layup, but Brown countered with a basket at the 6:45 mark to make it 22-17. Penn State seemed to be rolling, but the Lady Lions did not score again in the half. Ohio State, meanwhile, closed out the half on a 10-0 run to pull ahead, 32-17, at the break.

Gissendanner opened the second half with a quick jumper to trim the lead to 13, but Ohio State spurted on a 12-4 run over the half's first six minutes to take a 44-21 lead at the 14:06 mark. Gissendanner showed her grit, willing her team to stay in the game. She scored 13 points down the stretch, but Penn State could get no closer than 16 the rest of the way.

Penn State finished the year 13-16, an anomaly for head coach Rene Portland; it was the first non-winning season for the coaching icon in 28 years as a head coach. Portland has a 678-249 all-time record as a head coach and a 591-220 mark at Penn State.

After the game Portland reflected on the season and what lies ahead for her team.

"People aren't used to us in this position and I don't want them to be," said Portland. "Next year we will be able to rely on a deeper bench, which will help with substitutions and provide the players more confidence and motivation to play well."