| Senior Amanda Brown became the 29th player in Penn State history to accumulate 1,000 career points in Penn State's 70-44 loss to No. 13/13 Purdue Sunday. She notched her fifth double-double of the season with game-highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds. |
- Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.; December 31, 2006 - The Lady Lions (7-8, 0-2 Big Ten) hung tough with #13/13 Purdue (13-2, 2-0) in the first half, but the Boilermakers proved to be too much in the second half as Penn State dropped a 70-44 decision to the Boilers at Mackey Arena on Sunday. The day was not a complete loss for the Lady Lions as senior post player Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) netted her 1,000th career point and notched her fifth double-double of the season.
Brown is the 29th player in Lady Lion history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Her 1,000th tally came on a lay-up that came off of a pass from junior guard Kamela Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.). Brown scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second period. Additionally, she was 9-for-12 from the field and grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Freshman guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) scored seven points, while Gissendanner chipped in six points and five assists.
Purdue came out strong in the second half, going on a 14-3 run to extend its four-point halftime lead to a 15-point margin (39-24) just over three minutes into the period. The Lady Lions stayed in the game after four-straight points by Brown sliced the Boilermaker lead to 11 points (39-28), but would get no closer as Purdue, which equaled its first half scoring output in just over nine minutes, ended the game on a 31-16 run and held Penn State to just a Charity Renfro (Las Vegas, Nev.) free throw, four points by Brown and field goals by Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Gissendanner got the Lady Lions out to a quick start when she nailed a jumper just 45 seconds into the game to give PSU the early 2-0 lead. However, the Boilermakers scored 10-straight points and went on a 17-3 run overall as the Lady Lions struggled to covert from the field. Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, FahKara Malone and Erin Lawless each scored four points during the Boilers' run that spanned a nine-minute stretch. The Lady Lions did not back down to the nationally-ranked Boilermakers as PSU reeled off a 14-4 run, which included four points each from Mark, Gissendanner and Brown, in the final seven minutes of the first period to cut the Purdue lead to four points, 25-21, at the break. Penn State held Purdue to its second-lowest first half point total this season (20 vs. Connecticut).
The Lady Lions, who have lost four-straight to the Boilermakers, are now 14-18 all-time against Purdue and 4-11 all-time in West Lafayette.
Purdue was led by Wisdom-Hylton with 19 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and five steals. Katie Gearlds (12 pts.), Lawless (11) and Danielle Campell (11) also reached double figures for the Boilermakers. Purdue was nearly perfect at the free throw line, connecting of 15-of-16 shots for an astounding 93.8%.
The Lady Lions return home for the first time in nearly a month when they host Northwestern on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m., in their Big Ten home opener. After a road game at Michigan on Jan. 7, Penn State returns home to face nationally-ranked Ohio State (Jan. 11) and Michigan (Jan. 14).
Single-game tickets and 'Sunday FunDay' mini-plan 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.