Jan. 28, 2008
COLUMBUS, OHIO - The Lady Lions (13-8, 4-5) ran into a hot-shooting #19/15 Ohio State (16-4, 7-2) squad on the way to an 89-53 loss at Value City Arena on Monday night. The Buckeyes shot 58.2% (32-55) from the field, including a 67% effort in the first half, compared to just a 33% (18-54) effort for Penn State. It is the most points given up by a Lady Lion team since a 93-61 loss at Old Dominion on Nov. 29, 2005.
Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) had a good effort in her home state with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also reached double figures with 12 tallies and four assists, while Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added nine points and four rebounds off the bench. Freshman Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) continued her solid play since moving into the starting lineup with six points and seven rebounds.
Despite the fact that the Buckeyes started the game 6-for-8 from the field, the Lady Lions only trailed by four points (12-8) four minutes into the game. O'Rourke had four of Penn State's points in the early-going and Grant and Mark added the other four tallies. However, Marscilla Packer and Jantel Lavender combined to score 11 of the game's next 15 points to extend the Ohio State lead to 11 points 23-12 with 12:23 left in the half.
A Grant field goal cut the OSU lead back to nine points with just over 12 minutes remaining in the period, but the Lady Lions struggled to find their offensive rhythm for the remainder of the period, getting just eight free throws, including five makes by Grant, and one Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) field goal. The scoring drought allowed the Buckeyes to pull ahead by a 47-24 margin heading into the break.
Grant had a team-high nine points with two assists, while Mark added seven points off the bench. The Buckeyes were on fire from the field, connecting on 67% of their shots, conversely the Lady Lions were just 7-of-23 (30%). Lavender had a game-best 14 points and eight rebounds in the opening frame.
The Lady Lions came out strong in the second frame, scoring the first four points of the half on baskets by Gissendanner and Wolff. However, the Buckeyes came roaring back with 16 of the game's next 17 points to move ahead by 34 points just seven minutes into the period. O'Rourke single-handedly led the Lady Lions on a 6-2 run as Penn State attempted to chip away at the Buckeye lead, but it proved to be insurmountable. The closest that the Lady Lions would get over the final 13 minutes of the second half was 30.
After taking their second bye week of the Big Te slate, the Lady Lions return home to face Wisconsin on Kids Day at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday at 2 p.m. Kids interested in apply to get a behind the scenes look at Lady Lion game day, should send their name, phone number and email address to Rachel Rito (rar240@psu.edu).
Fans can purchase single-game tickets by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center box office, calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com. The second annual THINK PINK Day is slated for Sunday, Feb. 10 versus Iowa at noon. For more information on THINK PINK Day, visit Penn State's official THINK PINK website at www.gopsusports.com/thinkpink.