Jan. 29, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, IND. - The Lady Lions (8-11, 3-6) got off to a hot start, but could not sustain the momentum in a 65-55 loss at Indiana (15-4, 8-2) Thursday night. Coming off of her 32-point performance against Wisconsin last Thursday, Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) continued her solid play with a game-high 18 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.
With her performance, Grant moved into 20th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,245 points, passing Amanda Brown, Kam Gissendanner and Tina Nicholson. Sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) notched her second double-double of the season with 15 points via a 6-for-9 shooting performance and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore post Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) was a spark off of the bench for the Lady Lions with six points, eight rebounds and two assists, while seniors Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) and Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in eight points and six points, respectively. O'Rourke dished out a game-high four assists.
The Lady Lions got off to a fast start as Grant knocked down a three-pointer in PSU's first offensive possession and the Lions continued to roll as they connected on six of their first eight shots, including all three of their three-point attempts, to establish a 14-7 lead with just under 16 minutes in the half. Grant (6 pts.) and Trogele (5) combined to score 11 of Penn State's first 14 tallies with O'Rourke accounting for the other three points.
Penn State extended the lead to eight points at 20-12 on baskets by Wolff, Williams and Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) with 10:40 on the clock. However, the Lions went cold from the field and struggled to take care of the ball over the next eight minutes and allowed the Hoosiers to take a 26-20 lead before an old-fashioned three-point play by Grant in transition stopped the skid with 2:39 left in the opening frame.
On the ensuing Indiana possession, Wolff pulled down the rebounds and found a streaking Grant for the layup to make it a one-point game (26-25). The Lions continued the run as O'Rourke hit a jumper in transition and Wolff capped the 9-0 spurt with a layup off of a pass from Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) with 28 seconds left to give Penn State a 29-26 lead heading into the break.
Grant led the way for the Lady Lions in the first half with 11 points and five rebounds, while O'Rourke and Trogele added five tallies apiece. Wolff also had a solid opening frame with four points and five boards.
The squads swapped baskets for the first several possessions of the second half, but five straight points by the Hoosiers thrust Indiana to a 35-22 lead with 16 minutes left in the game. Trogele grabbed the offensive rebound and drove through for the bucket to tie the game at 35-35 with 15:36 remaining. Following one free throw by Williams, Indiana went on a 5-0 run to take a 40-36 lead with 14:28 on the clock.
A bucket by Trogele and a free throw by O'Rourke brought the Lions within two points (41-39), but Indiana scored the game's next seven points to push its lead to 48-39 with 10:27 left in the game. A pair of Trogele free throws stopped the Indiana run and brought the Lady Lions within seven points (48-41). However, Indiana scored the next three points to take a double-digit lead (51-41) with eight and half minutes remaining. The Lady Lions would get as close as eight points down the stretch, but could not pull off a comeback for the second-straight game.
GAME NOTES: Lady Lion radio play-by-play announcer Jerry Fisher celebrated his 750th career game tonight... In his 30th season, Fisher is the longest tenured women's basketball announcer in Division I, according to a poll conducted by UNLV...Junior guard Tyra Grant moved into 20th place on Penn State's career scoring chart (1,245 pts.), passing Amanda Brown, Kam Gissendanner and Tina Nicholson tonight...Sophomore Julia Trogele posted her second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Her 15 tallies tie her career high set against Stony Brook earlier this season.
The Lady Lions continue their road swing at Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 1, where they will participate in the Hawkeyes' WBCA Pink Zone Day. Penn State returns to the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday, Feb. 5 to face Minnesota at 7 p.m. The game against the Gophers is $1 Dog Night. 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.