Nov. 24, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (3-1) struggled to find their shooting touch all night as they shot just 30% from the field, including an 18.8% effort in the first half, en route to an 80-59 loss to Pittsburgh (2-1) on Monday night at the Petersen Events Center. It is the first loss of the season for Penn State, which had started 3-0 for the third consecutive season.
Junior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led the Lady Lions with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) added eight points, six rebounds and two steals off of the bench. Senior forward Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) turned in a six-point, six-rebound performance in 16 minutes and Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) chipped in five points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the loss.
The Lady Lions struggled early as they only managed to connect on one of their first 11 shots, a Lewis rebound and put back, to allow the Panthers to jump out to an 11-2 lead with 13 and a half minutes remaining. The Lady Lions scored the next four points on a Wolff jumper and a pair of Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) free throws to pull within six points (11-6) with 12:33 left in the half. However, Pitt scored the next 13 points to establish a 24-6 lead with 8:09 on the clock.
Penn State, which missed 2-of-18 field goals and 3-of-9 free throws to open the game, started a comeback with six straight point by Grant to move within 28-12 with just over six minutes left in the first half. However, nine quick points by the Panthers put the Penn State deficit at 25 points (37-12) with just under four minutes to play. The Lady Lions appeared to be cutting into the Pitt lead with a 6-2 run, but the Panthers scored the final four points of the half to send the teams into the locker room with Pitt leading by 25 points (43-18).
Grant had a team-high six points and four rebounds in the first half, while Wolff added four tallies and five rebounds. The Panthers shot 51.7%, including 50% from three-point range, in the opening period. Shavonte Zellous had 10 points to lead Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh added to its lead as it scored seven of the first 10 points of the second half to take a 50-21 lead at the first media timeout. Emily Phillips' (South Bend, Ind.) first career three-pointer started an 11-4 run that brought the Lady Lions back within 27 points at 61-34 with nine minutes on the clock.
Despite trailing 67-34 with 7:45 remaining, the Lady Lions refused to give in and scored seven of the next nine points to cut the lead to 28 points. The Lions continued to chip away and pulled within 19 points (76-57) with 1:16 remaining on a Grant free throw, but the Panthers went on to score four of the game's final six points for the 80-59 win.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions are now 26-13 all-time against the Panthers...Penn State falls to 10-11 at Pitt...Emily Phillips scored her first career points on a three-pointer at the 12:19 mark of the second half...Tyra Grant's 20-point effort is the 13th of her career.
The Lady Lions travel to Malibu, Calif., for the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament at Pepperdine University where they will face # 12/7 Texas A&M in the opening round. After an ACC/Big Ten Challenge road game at Florida State on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Lady Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon. 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.