Feb. 14, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State (13-12, 4-9) ended the game on a 17-5 run, but it was not enough as Minnesota (18-8, 9-5) held on for a 56-48 win over the Lady Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday night. It is the first-ever win for the Golden Gophers in Happy Valley (12-1 all-time) and extends Penn State's losing streak to a school-record six games.
Senior Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) continued her hot streak with another solid all-around performance with team highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to go along with two assists and a career-high three steals. Junior guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also sparked the Lady Lions with 12 points and six assists, while Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) added eight points, four rebounds and a career-best four steals. Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) came off the bench to notch career best marks with six points and three blocked shots.
Penn State fell behind early as Minnesota scored the 12 of the first 14 points of the game with the lone Lady Lion basket coming on a lay-up from Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.). After an exchange of two-point possessions to make it 14-4 with 13:33 left in the half, the Lady Lions reeled off a 6-0 run, thanks to baskets by Gissendanner, Wolff and O'Rourke, to pull within four points (14-10) with 11:30 on the clock.
Following a four-point spurt by the Golden Gophers, the Lady Lions scored the next seven points on buckets by Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) and Wolff and a three-pointer by O'Rourke, who picked up assists the other two scores, to move within one tally at 18-17 with just over eight minutes to play. Minnesota would build the lead back to five points before a Gissendanner three-pointer made it 22-20 game with six minutes left in the half. However, Emily Fox, who was relegated to the bench for nearly nine minutes with foul trouble, scored back-to-back baskets to start an 8-1 Minnesota run to end the half and send the Gophers into the break with a 30-21 lead.
Wolff had a team-high six points to go along with two rebounds, while O'Rourke and Gissendanner added five tallies apiece. Fox scored 10 points for the Golden Gophers, who shot 53.8% from the field in the opening frame.
The teams swapped baskets to open the second frame before Minnesota scored seven straight points to extend its lead to 16 points (39-23) with 17 minutes remaining. The Minnesota lead remained status quo for the next six and a half minutes and the Lady Lion defense stepped up to hold the Golden Gophers to just one field goal over the final 10:55 of the game and spark a 17-1 Penn State run cut the Gopher lead to four points at 52-48 with three minutes remaining in the game. Gissendanner accounted for eight points during the run, while O'Rourke added five points and Trogele chipped in four points.
After two Gissendanner free throws made it a 52-48 game with three minutes to go, the Lady Lions missed three lay-up attempts in a two possession span and turned the ball over with a minute on the clock. Following another missed lay-up; O'Rourke fouled Fox, who made both of her shots to put the Gophers ahead by six (54-48) with 28 seconds left. Another Lady Lion turnover led to a steal and lay-up for Fox for the final margin.
The Lady Lions conclude their three-game homestand with "Senior Day" against Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Fans that attend Sunday's game will have a chance to honor lone Lady Lion senior Kam Gissendanner and will receive a Lady Lion lunchbox while supplies last. Penn State will hit the road for a two-game swing in the state of Illinois, taking on the Illini on Thursday, Feb. 21 before meeting Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 24.
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.
GAME NOTES: The six-game losing skid marks the longest streak in Lady Lion history...Julia Trogele recorded career highs of six points, three blocks and 22 minutes...Janessa Wolff finished with a career-high four steals during a career-high 37 minutes of action...Kam Gissendanner tied a career-high with three steals (last set on Jan. 20, 2008 against Michigan)...Evelyn Lewis tied a career-high with two blocks (last set on Dec. 15, 2007 against Bucknell)...Penn State had 10 steals for the first time since the Jan. 4, 2007 win over Northwestern...The Lady Lions committed less than 10 personal fouls for the first time since the Dec. 9, 2007 win over Georgetown...Minnesota wins in Happy Valley for the first time in school history (12-1).
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