Dec. 3, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, but it was not enough as the Penn State Lady Lions (4-3) dropped a 73-60 decision at Florida State (6-2) Wednesday night in the Second Annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. With her performance, Grant became the 31st player and just the 14th junior in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
Grant led the way for the Lady Lions with her 18 points, four rebounds and two assists, while senior guard Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) returned to the lineup after missing five games with a hand injury to tally nine points, three assists and four steals. Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who was saddled with foul trouble for much of the game, chipped in 16 points, two assists and two steals in the loss. Sophomore post Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) also had a solid all-around game for the Lady Lions with five points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals off of the bench.
The Seminoles got on the board first with a three-pointer by Mara Freshour just 17 seconds into the game and added a pair of Jacinta Moore layups around an Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) free throw to take a 7-1 lead at the 17:30 mark. Following a Meggan Quinn (Red Lion, Pa.) jumper, Florida State scored back-to-back baskets to move ahead 11-3 with 16 minutes left in the half.
Florida State extended its lead to 19-5 just under the midway point of the half as the Lady Lions struggled to control the ball with 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half. Penn State got a free throw from Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.) and a layup from Williams to pull within 11 points, but the 'Noles responded with 15 of the game's next 18 points to put the lead back to 23 points (34-11) with five minutes left in the half.
Williams stopped the FSU run with a layup and the Lady Lions tightened their defense to spark a 15-0 run over the next four minutes and pull within eight points at 34-26 with 57 seconds left. During the run, O'Rourke accounted for three points, Williams had four points and two steals, while Grant added three points and Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) chipped in two tallies and a steal. A three-pointer by Freshour at the 39-second mark and a jumper by Grant five seconds later sent the teams into the locker room with Florida State leading 37-28.
O'Rourke had a team-high eight points in the first half, while Williams added seven points, three steals and two assists. Trogele also had a solid opening frame with four points, three rebounds and two steals. The Lady Lions had seven steals off of 13 Florida State turnovers.
Trogele opened the scoring in the second half with a layup 15 seconds in, but the Seminoles got back-to-back baskets to push the lead back to 11 (41-30) at the 17-minute mark. The squads exchanged scores before Florida State extended the lead to 15 points where it remained for several possessions until back-to-back three-point plays by Grant, which were sandwiched around a Moore layup, cut the lead to 49-38 with 13:14 to play.
The Seminoles brought the lead back to 14 points (52-38) with 12 minutes to play, but the Lady Lions, who were without the services of Trogele after she fouled out on an offensive foul at the 11:51 mark, fought back with a free throw by Grant and a three-pointer by O'Rourke to make it a 52-42 game with 10:40 left in the game. The Lions would climb back to within eight points (55-47) with nine minutes left on a Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.), a Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) rebound and putback and one Wolff free throw.
However, Florida State went on a 6-1 run to extend its lead to 14 points (62-48) with just over six minutes left in the game. Penn State cut the deficit back to an even 10 points (62-52) thanks to baskets by O'Rourke and Grant, but a three-pointer by Alysha Harvin slowed the Lady Lion momentum and made it a 65-52 game with five minutes to play and that was a close as the Lady Lions would get down the stretch.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions are now 1-1 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge with the loss to FSU and the win over #10 Duke, 86-84, in the inaugural Challenge...Junior Tyra Grant reached the 1,000-point mark for her career becoming the 31st player and just the 14th junior in school history to accomplish the feat...Senior Mashea Williams returned to the court after missing five games with a hand injury to tally nine points, three assists and four steals.
After a four-game road trip, the Lady Lions return to the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon. Saturday is a day full of deals for Lady Lion fans as Penn State celebrates the opening of I-99 by giving fans from Blair County, who show their Drivers License at the Box Office, a tickets for $0.99. Saturday also marks the first SUBWAY FULL COURT FOUR PACK offer of the season where fans can purchase four tickets, four soft drinks at the game and a voucher redeemable for four six inch subs at any State College Subway location for just $40. The Lady Lions will 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.