- Box Score
- Penn State Head Coach Rene Portland Quotes
- Penn State Player Quotes
- South Carolina Head Coach Susan Walvius Quotes
- Postgame Notes
- Game Photos
| Freshman Tyra Grant fired up her teammates and the crowd by scoring 19 points off the bench to lead the Lady Lions to an 11-point win over South Carolina. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 14, 2006 ?C The official theme of the 2006 Lady Lions is ??Have the Passion.?? Just three games into the season, it??s obvious that head coach Rene Portland has already driven the message home.
Freshman guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) plays with fire: she scored a game high 19 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench in 21 high-energy, fist-pumping minutes to help Penn State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) pull away for a 68-57 win over South Carolina (1-1, 0-0 SEC) at the Bryce Jordan Center in front of 4,855 fans.
??I??ve always been like that,?? Grant said of her active play. ??It??s just a part of me. I look to be the player that comes in and provides that spark.??
Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) fed off Grant??s energy and added 16 points and three rebounds to the winning effort, while Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) posted a game-high nine rebounds.
??The whole team should play with a lot of emotion,?? Portland said. ??Tyra is just a little puppy dog, she??s young, but we understand she??s special.??
Penn State finished with the rebounding edge over the Gamecocks, 39-38.
The game was tied at halftime, but the Lady Lions scored the first 10 points of the second half to put some breathing room between themselves and the Gamecocks. The 10-point run was capped by Brianne O??Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who flipped in a shot while falling down in the lane.
Lauren Simms had a big second half for South Carolina, scoring all of her 12 points after the break. Her efforts helped put the Gamecocks within striking distance, at 48-46, with about 10 minutes to play in the contest. But Grant??s 12 second-half points ?C which included 12-of-13 from the free throw line?C iced the game for the Lady Lions.
Penn State is closer to evening the all-time series with South Carolina, which now stands at 2-3. The Lady Lions have won the last two match-ups. Meanwhile, Rene Portland is closer to two coaching milestones with tonight??s win: the victory over the Gamecocks is the 681st of her career and 594th as Penn State??s head coach.
| With the victory over South Carolina, Rene Portland is just six wins away from her 600th as the head coach of the Lady Lions. |
Each team had a major run in the first half. With the score tied, 7-7, in the early going, the Lady Lions broke off a run that gave them a sizable lead. Penn State put together a 13-4 run and stretched its lead to 20-11, before increasing the lead to 25-13 with just under six minutes remaining in the first half.
The Gamecocks responded before they were buried, ripping off an 18-6 run to make the score 31-31 in the waning moments of the half. O??Rourke had a chance at a buzzer beater, but after running the length of the floor with the ball her last-second lay-up was swatted away and the teams went into halftime tied.
Grant came off the bench to spark Penn State??s opening salvo by scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds. O??Rourke contributed three first-half assists and Charity Renfro (Las Vegas, Nev.) was active underneath the basket, recording four rebounds in the first period.
South Carolina??s counter punch was keyed by forward Melanie Johnson, who scored eight first-half points, and Kellindra Zackery who scored seven for the Gamecocks in the first half.
The Lady Lions close out a three-game homestand against Notre Dame on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Single-game tickets and ??Sunday FunDay?? packages for the Lady Lions may be purchased by visiting the ticket section of GoPSUsports.com or by calling the ticket office at 814-865-5555. Women's single game tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students and youth (under 18). Mini ticket plans are also available.