Nov. 19, 2008
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (2-0) jumped out to an early lead and shot better than 53% from the field on the way to a 97-58 victory over Stony Brook (0-3) at the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night. The Lady Lions notched their 15th consecutive non-conference home win to tie the school record that was set from 1984-87. The squad also scored the most points for a Penn State team since a 101-74 victory over Maryland and Dec. 4, 2002.
Freshman guard Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) was outstanding in just her second game as she led five Lady Lions in double figures with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. Junior guard Meggan Quinn (Red Lion, Pa.) made the most of her first start with a career-high 14 points, including a 5-for-5 effort from the free throw line, five assists and three rebounds.
Junior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) had a solid all-around game with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, while sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) added 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) was the final Lady Lion in double figures with 10 tallies and two blocks off the bench.
The Lady Lions came out running on all cylinders as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to four points by Trogele, three tallies each by Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) and Wolff and two points each by Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.) and Quinn. Brianne O'Rourke (Pittbsurgh, Pa.) was impressive during the game's opening run as she dished out four assists on the first six baskets.
The Seawolves got on the board with a three-pointer by Jodie Pilkus at the 12:38 mark to make it a 14-3 Penn State lead, but the Lady Lions unleashed a 12-2 run that included six points from Quinn to move ahead 26-5 with 8:32 remaining. Following a Stony Brook layup, Grant connected on a 15-footer and O'Rourke converted on her fastbreak layup to put the Lady Lions ahead 30-7 with just under seven minutes remaining in the opening frame.
After an exchange of baskets, Gray netted her first career three-pointer to put the Lady Lions up by 25 (35-10) with just over four minutes on the clock. Penn State closed out the half with 12-4 run that included five points each from Gray and Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
For the second consecutive game, the Lady Lions held their opponent to less than 18% shooting in the opening period as they allowed the Seawolves to shoot just 15% from the field with only three field goals made. On Sunday, Penn State held South Carolina to just 17.9% in the first half. Quinn paced the Lady Lions in the first half with eight points and two rebounds, while Mark added seven points and seven boards.
The Lady Lions continued to roll in the second half as a Trogele layup sparked a 10-3 run to open the frame. Following the Penn State run, the Seawolves would score five quick points to make it a 57-22 game before an NBA-range three-pointer by Gray brought the momentum back to the Lady Lions.
After a Stony Brook three-pointer, Quinn converted on a pair of free throws and Gray dropped a layup to extend the lead to 64-25. The Lady Lions kept the pressure on as Wolff turned a Grant pass into a layup and Grant drained a circus shot and was fouled for a three-point play and a 69-27 lead with just over 12 minutes on the clock.
The offense kept rolling along as Wolff took an out of bounds pass from Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) and turned it into a layup for a 41-point lead (71-30). The Seawolves continued to fight and took advantage of complacency on the Lady Lion defense to pull within 29 points (84-55) with two and a half minutes remaining, but four straight points by Trogele jumpstarted a 13-3 Penn State to end the game. Gray capped the Lady Lions scoring for the evening with a fastbreak layup with 51 seconds left and a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining.
GAME NOTES: The 97 points are the most points score by a Lady Lion team since a 101-74 victory over Maryland and Dec. 4, 2002...Lady Lions tie the school record with their 15th consecutive non-conference home win...Junior guard Meggan Quinn made her first career start...Quinn had a career-high 14 points...Quinn has made every free throw she has taken in her college career (7-for-7)...Junior Tyra Grant reached the 900-point mark (913) for her career with 15 tallies...Sophomore Janessa Wolff surpassed 200 points (209) for her career with 10 markers against the Seawolves...The Lady Lions were without the services of Mashea Williams (finger) and Meredith Monroe (knee), who are both day-to-day.
The Lady Lions complete their season-opening three-game homestand against Prairie View A&M on Fri., Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. Football season ticket holders can show their ticket and receive a buy one, get one free admission to the game. 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.