Jan. 18, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Penn State Lady Lions (7-10, 2-5) held the lead for much of the first half at Michigan State (12-6, 5-2) Sunday afternoon, but the Spartans outscored the Lady Lions 38-29 in the second frame and handed Penn State a 70-59 loss at the Breslin Center to register the season series sweep. The Spartans had the advantage at the free throw line where they made nearly four times as many freebies (22) than the Lady Lions (6).
Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the Lady Lion offense with 16 points to go along with three assists and three rebounds, while fellow senior Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) was 6-for-10 from the field en route to 12 points. Williams also registered seven rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Sophomore post Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) had a career-high eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, while classmate Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) added seven points and four rebounds. Junior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) was held to single digits for the first time this season with just seven tallies.
Trailing 4-2 just three minutes into the game, the Lady Lions reeled for six-straight points on an O'Rourke three-pointer, rebound and fastbreak layup by Williams and a free throw by Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) to take an 8-4 lead with 14:37 remaining in the opening frame. The Spartans got two free throws to pull within two points, but Grant notched a steal and found a streaking Williams for a layup and a 10-6 lead with 13:42 to play.
Following a bucket by Lauren Aitch, the Lady Lions went to the post for their next two baskets with Wolff and Lewis converting to give Penn State at six-point lead (14-8) with 12 minutes left in the half. The Spartans scored six of the game's next seven points to pull within a single point (15-14) with 8:28 left in the half as the Lady Lions went just over four minutes without a field goal. The squads swapped baskets for the next several trips until O'Rourke knocked down a three in transition to give Penn State a 26-22 lead with just over four minutes remaining. However, the Spartans scored four consecutive points to tie the game at 26-26 with two and a half minutes on the clock.
A basket by Wolff put the Lady Lions up by two, but a three-pointer by Kalisha Keane gave Michigan State its first lead since the 17-minute mark. The Spartans padded their lead with an old-fashioned three-point play by Brittany Thomas with 44 seconds remaining. Williams capped the scoring for the first half with a layup with 23 seconds left to send the teams into the break with MSU holding a 32-30 lead.
Williams had team-highs of 10 points and four rebounds to lead the Lady Lions, who shot 52% (13-25) from the field in the opening frame. Lewis and O'Rourke added six points apiece, while Wolff chipped in five points and a pair of rebounds.
After holding Allyssa DeHaan down for much of the first half, the two-time All-Big Ten selection scored the first four points of the second half and the Spartans added two free throws by Keane and a basket by Lykendra Johnson to take a 10-point lead (40-30) just three minutes into the second half. Williams put the Lions on the scoreboard in the second half with a driving layup, but the Spartans immediately responded with a bucket of their own.
The teams exchanged baskets on their respective possessions, but the Spartans scored the next six points to extend the lead to 48-34 with 14 and a half minutes left in the game. The Lions continued to fight with a three-pointer by O'Rourke and a bucket by Lewis to slice the lead to nine points (48-39) with 13:43 on the clock. Aisha Jefferson stopped the Penn State run with a basket and MSU added a layup by Aitch to push the lead back to 13 points (52-39) at the 12-minute timeout.
Wolff stopped the Michigan State run with a layup, but the Spartans responded with a three-point play be DeHaan to make it a 55-41 game with 10 minutes left in the game. A pair of free throws by O'Rourke cut the deficit back to 12 points, but MSU scored seven straight points to push the lead to 19 points (62-43) with just under seven minutes left. O'Rourke and Trogele combined to score 10 of the game's next 12 points to pull within 11 points (64-53) with just under four minutes on the clock. The Lady Lions would get no closer than 11 tallies down the stretch.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions used their third different starting lineup in the last three games...Junior Tyra Grant did not reach double figures in the scoring column for the first time this season...Grant also became the 16th player in school history to record 50 career blocked shots...Penn State is now 23-9 all-time against Michigan State, including 8-6 in East Lansing...Sophomore Evelyn Lewis had a career-high eight points, her previous career high was seven in the season-opening win over South Carolina.
The Lady Lions return home to face Wisconsin on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. The Wisconsin game will be $1 dog night for those fans in attendance. Following the game against the Badgers and its second bye date of the season, Penn State will hit the road for games at Indiana on Thursday, Jan. 29 and Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 1. 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.