Nov. 16, 2008
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (1-0) used a dominating defensive performance to post a 56-42 victory over South Carolina (0-1) in the season opener for both teams on Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions held the Gamecocks to 25.5% shooting on the game and forced 20 turnovers in the win. The 42 points allowed are the fewest given up by Penn State since a 76-41 win over Illinois on Jan. 13, 2005.
Junior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led the Lady Lions on both sides of the ball as she had a game-high 17 points to go along with three rebounds and a steal. She also forced the Gamecocks into committing four offensive fouls. Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added eight points, five assists and four rebounds, while sophomore post Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) contributed eight points and five boards off the bench.
Sophomore posts Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) and Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) chipped in seven points apiece for the Lady Lions. It was a career-best scoring night for Lewis. Senior guard Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) had a quite, but effective night for the Blue & White with six points, five rebounds and five assists.
The game started with a slow pace as both teams struggled to shake off the season-opening nerves and the teams found themselves knotted at 3-3 five minutes into the contest. Lewis scored all three Lady Lion points, while Demetress Adams accounted for all of the Gamecocks' scoring early.
O'Rourke gave the Lady Lions their first lead of the game with a three-pointer at the 13:31 mark to make it a 7-5 game and spark a 6-1 run to open it up to a seven-point Penn State lead (13-6). However, the Gamecocks charged back with five straight points to slice the Penn State lead to just two points at 13-11 with just over eight minutes to play in the half.
The Lady Lions bounced back with a 9-0 run of their own to move ahead by an 11-point margin (22-11). Grant register four tallies during the run, while O'Rourke and Williams add three and two points, respectively. Penn State extended the lead to13 points at 25-12 with 24 seconds remaining after a Lewis layup and a free throw by Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.), but the Gamecocks knocked down a three-pointer in the waning moments to cut PSU's to 10 tallies at the break.
O'Rourke paced the Lady Lion offense in the opening frame with eight points, while Grant and Lewis added seven markers apiece. The Lady Lion defense was stout as it held South Carolina to just five field goals and a 17.9% shooting percentage from the field in the first half. Grant was a defensive stalwart for the Lady Lions as she took three charges in the first six and half minutes.
South Carolina came out with a defensive fire in the second half as the Gamecocks picked off a pair of passes and converted on the ensuing layups to cut the Lady Lion lead to six points (25-19) in the first minute and a half of the period. Williams stopped the USC roll with a layup off of a nice pass from freshman Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.). After an exchange of baskets, a driving layup by Trogele and a pair of buckets by Wolff brought the Penn State lead to a game-high 15 points at 36-21 with 11:25 on the clock.
The Gamecocks would not go away as they fought back to pull within 11 points on a three-pointer by Brionna Dickerson with 9:27 to play, but that was as close as the Gamecocks would get as a 9-0 Lady Lion run, which included seven tallies by Grant, put the game out of reach. Penn State withstood one final South Carolina push to come away with a 14-point win.
GAME NOTES: Sophomore Evelyn Lewis scored a career-high seven points...Penn State is 33-12 all-time in season openers...The Lady Lions are 37-8 in home openers since 1965, including a 10-3 mark at the Bryce Jordan Center...The Lady Lions have won their last four games against South Carolina...Penn State has won its last 14 non-conference games at home, dating back to the 2006 season...The win snaps a 12-game losing streak for the Lady Lions...The 42 points allowed by the defense are the fewest given up by the Lady Lions since a 76-41 win over Illinois on Jan. 13, 2005.
The Lady Lions continue their season-opening three-game homestand against Stony Brook (Wed., Nov. 19) and Prairie View A&M (Fri., Nov. 21). For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.
The 2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith (formerly known as THINK PINK Day) will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first two Pink Zone events have raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Breast Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone.