| Tyra Grant. |
- Box Score
IOWA CITY, IOWA.; February 18, 2007 ?? Freshman guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) had a career-high 33 points, but it was not enough as the Lady Lions (13-14, 6-8) dropped a hard-fought battle with Iowa (13-14, 5-9), 79-72, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday afternoon. Grant is the first PSU freshman since Kelly Mazzante to have 30 points in a game. This is the first time this year that Penn State has lost when scoring 70 or more points (8-1).
Grant accounted for nine of Penn State??s 21 field goals on the day and was 12-for-14 from the free throw line. She also chipped in three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior post player Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) registered her 12th double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also blocked three shots. All eight players that entered the game for the Lady Lions scored.
At the start of the second half, the Hawkeyes extended their lead with a three-point play by Nicole VanderPol moved the Iowa lead to five points just 45 seconds into the frame. However, the Lady Lions continued to fight and used a 7-2 run to move ahead by a 46-45 margin with 17:09 to play. The Hawkeyes would retake the lead with a pair of Megan Skouby free throws, but Penn State would use a three-point play by Grant to move ahead 49-47 with 15:37 remaining. Iowa went on an 8-1 run to move ahead by five points (55-50) before Penn State cut the lead back to one, 59-58, at the 9:38 mark. Penn State took its final lead of the game at 65-63 on a Grant three-pointer with 6:30 left in the game. However, it would prove to be the Lady Lions?? final field goal of the game. PSU only connected on seven free throws down the stretch on the way to the seven-point loss. After shooting 57.1% from the field in the opening half, Penn State, which committed 25 turnovers, shot just 32% in the second period.
The Lady Lions jumped out to the early 9-6 lead after two buckets by Brown, a pair of Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) free throws and a three-pointer by junior guard Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.), but the Hawkeyes would forge (11-9) ahead with an old-fashioned three-point play by Krista VandeVenter. However, Grant quickly knocked down the first of her three-straight baskets to tie the game at 11-11 at the 16:30 mark. Grant gave PSU the lead out of the first official timeout and tacked on a three-pointer to make it a 16-13 lead with 14:37 to play in the frame.
The Lady Lions extended the lead to 23-15 with 11:38 remaining, thanks to baskets by Courtney Molinaro (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and a trio of Grant free throws. A quick 7-0 spurt by Iowa sliced the Penn State lead back to two points (27-25) with 7:22 on the clock. The Lady Lions survived a barrage of three-pointers by Lindsey Nyenhuis that made it a 32-31 PSU lead with 6:38 remaining in the half. After two free throws by Brown and a lay-up by Mark, Penn State held a five-point lead (36-31) with just under minutes left in the frame. Unfortunately, the Lady Lions could only manage two Grant free throws over the final 4:59, which allowed Iowa to earn a 40-38 lead entering the locker room. Both teams shot better than 50% from the field in the half, but were both plagued by turnovers. Grant was PSU??s leading scorer with 12 points.
Iowa shot 52.8% from the field and 87.5% from three-point range on the day. The Hawkeyes had four players in double figures, led by Kristi Smith??s 21 points.
The Lady Lions will close out the road portion of their schedule at #4/5 Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 22. Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center for ??Senior Day?? on Sunday, Feb. 25 against Indiana. The Lady Lions will also celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day at halftime of the Indiana game
Single-game tickets 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).