Nov. 29, 2008
MALIBU, CALIF. - The Penn State Lady Lions (4-2) had three players post double-doubles in a 76-61 win over Coppin State (0-4) in the consolation game of the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament in Malibu, Calif. Senior Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and sophomores Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) and Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) all recorded double-doubles to lead the Lady Lions over the Eagles, while Trogele and O'Rourke were selected to the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS All-Tournament team.
Junior guard Meggan Quinn (Red Lion, Pa.) led five Lady Lions in double figures with a career-high 16 points that included four three-pointers. She also dished out three assists in the win. O'Rourke registered her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 assists. It is the highest single-game assist total for a Lady Lion since Jess Strom dished out 13 helpers against Oklahoma State on Nov. 24, 2001.
Trogele posted her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. She also handed out three assists and had two blocks and two steals. Wolff recorded her third career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds off of the bench. She also blocked a career-best four shots and recorded three steals. Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) was the final Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points. She also had three steals on the game and finished the tournament with nine thefts.
The Lady Lions looked sluggish early as Coppin State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 41 seconds of the game, but Penn State reeled off 10 consecutive points to take a 10-5 lead with just under 17 minutes to play in the half. Wolff started the run with a rebound and putback off of a Quinn miss, while O'Rourke contributed a pair of free throws and Quinn, Grant and Trogele each added layups during the scoring flurry.
After a CSU score, the Lady Lions got back-to-back jumpers from O'Rourke and a breakaway layup from Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) to establish a 16-7 lead with 14:38 left in the half. The Lady Lions started the game shooting 63.6%, but missed three straight shots and turned the ball over three times to allow the Eagles score the next 10 points of the game and take a 17-16 lead with 11 minutes to play in the half.
A Quinn three-pointer put Penn State back in the lead at 19-17 and a Trogele scoop shot extended the lead to four points (21-17), but the Eagles scored the next four points to tie the game at 21 apiece with just over nine minutes left in the half. A Quinn layup off of a great pass by Lewis and a bucket by Wolff put the Lady Lions ahead by four (25-21) with 4:30 on the clock. A Trogele basket was sandwiched between five points by Danielle Anders to give the Lady Lions a one-point lead (27-26) before PSU scored six consecutive tallies to make it a 33-26 lead with just under two minutes left in the half. Coppin State went on to score seven of the final 10 points of the half to send the teams into the locker room with the Lady Lions leading 36-33. The lone tallies for the Lady Lions in the final two minutes was a three-pointer by O'Rourke.
O'Rourke head the Lady Lions with nine points and eight assists, while Trogele added eight points and four rebounds. Wolff also had a solid first half with eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Anders scored more than half of Coppin State's points with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
The Lady Lions came out firing on all cylinders in the second as Quinn drained a three-pointer just 22 seconds into the second half and Penn State would add a Trogele basket and one Lewis free throw to extend the lead to nine points (42-33) before the Eagles would get on the board in the second half. After an exchange of baskets, Quinn knocked down a pair of three-pointers, sandwiched around a Coppin State free throw to make it a 53-39 game with 14:42 on the clock.
A three-minute scoring drought for the Lady Lions allowed Coppin State to close within 10 points (53-43) with 12 minutes to play, but Penn State scored the next nine points of the game, including five tallies by Wolff and two each by Trogele and Grant to take a commanding 62-43 lead with 9:41 remaining in the game. The Eagles would pull as close as 12 points with 6:11 on the clock, but back-to-back three-pointers by O'Rourke and Gray put Penn State up by 18 at 70-52 with just under four minutes to play. The squads swapped baskets down the stretch with Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) capping the scoring with a jumper with 20 seconds left.
GAME NOTES: Senior Brianne O'Rourke dished out 13 assists for her fifth career game with 10 or more assists...O'Rourke's 13 assists are also a career high and is the highest single-game assist total by a Penn State player since Jess Strom dished out 13 helpers against Oklahoma State on Nov. 24, 2001...O'Rourke registered her first career double-double with 12 points and 13 assists...Sophomore Julia Trogele notched her first career double-double with 12 points and career-high 13 rebounds...Sophomore Janessa Wolff tallied her third career double-double with 15 points and 10 boards off of the bench...Wolff blocked a career-high four shots....Junior guard Meggan Quinn notched a career high with 16 points...Junior Meredith Monroe returned to the court after missing four games with a knee injury... Trogele and O'Rourke were selected to the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS All-Tournament team.
The Lady Lions will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to play Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Lady Lions return to the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon and remain home to face Bucknell on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. 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.