Feb. 21, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. - Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Jenna Smith ran wild for Illinois (15-11, 7-8) as the Illini handed the Lady Lions (13-14, 4-11) a 69-49 loss at Assembly Hall on Thursday night. Smith finished with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. The Illini turned the ball over just five times in the game and shot 46.3% from the field in the win.
Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) paced the Lady Lions with 15 points and five rebounds, while Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.), Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) and Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added six points apiece in the loss.
As has been the pattern during the Lady Lions' current eight-game losing streak, Penn State fell behind early by a 14-2 margin just five minutes into the game. The Lady Lion upped its defensive pressure and held the Illini without a point for a nearly four -minute span. Unfortunately during that time, Penn State could only manage to score six points on buckets by Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.), Mark and Meggan Quinn (Red Lion, Pa.) to cut the deficit to 14-8 with 11 and a half minutes left in the half.
A three-point play by Jenna Smith stopped the Illini drought and extended the lead to nine points (17-8), but the Lady Lions responded with a jumper by Gissendanner and a free throw by Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.). The teams swapped three-pointers with Gissendanner knocking down the triple for the Lady Lions to put the score at 20-14 with just under seven minutes left in the half. A pair of Lori Bjork free throws started 6-2 Illini run, which brought the lead back to double digits at 26-16 with 3:30 on the clock. Illinois would score five of the final seven points of the period to enter the break with a 13-point lead (31-18).
The Lady Lions, who shot just 27.6% from the field in the opening period, were Gissendanner's nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and four rebounds. Bjork, Smith and Rebecca Harris combined for 27 of Illinois' 31 points in the first half.
The teams started the second period with an exchange of baskets before a Bjork three-pointer and a free throw by Smith put the lead at 15 points (39-24) with 16 minutes to play. The lead remained at 15 for the next several minutes until back-to-back baskets by Smith extended the lead to 35-52 with 9:19 on the clock.
A five-point spurt by the Illini made it a 20-point game (59-39) before Gissendanner jump-started a 6-0 Lady Lion run with a free throw and a three-point play. The run brought the Lady Lions back within 14 tallies at 59-45 with four and a half minutes to play. After a Trogele basket to cap the run, Rebecca Harris connected on a driving lay-up as the shot clock expired to bring it back to a 61-45 game with under four minutes left. The Lady Lions would only manage four points by Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) in the final four and a half minutes on the way to the 20-point loss (69-49).
The Lady Lions conclude its road swing against Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. (Eastern), a game that can be seen on the Big Ten Network. The Lady Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center for their final home game of the regular-season on Thursday, Feb. 28 against nationally-ranked Ohio State at 7 p.m.
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: Nicole Arcidiacono scored her first career points on a fastbreak lay-up in the second half...Kam Gissendanner passed Suzie McConnell for 16th place on the career three-pointers list with one triple on the night...This is the first time all season that the Lady Lions have lost a game when outrebounding an opponent (9-1).