Feb. 19, 2009
2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State Page
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (9-16, 4-11) ran into a balanced Purdue (19-8, 12-4) scoring attack on the way to a 69-51 loss at the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday night. Sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) narrowly missed her third career double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. She also added two assists and two steals in the loss.
Junior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led the Lady Lions with 14 points to go along with six rebounds and a steal, while senior Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) chipped in seven points, three boards and four steals. Fellow senior Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who had an expanded role with the absence of Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.), was solid for the Lions with five points and five rebounds. Senior Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) accounted for six points and four assists in the loss.
In what might have been a hangover from Sunday's tough loss to Iowa, the Lady Lions had a sluggish start offensively as they started the game by making just two of their first 13 shots and turning the ball over four times. However, the Lions only found themselves down by three points (7-4) at the 14:37 mark of the opening frame. The Boiler rolled off seven straight points to establish a 14-4 lead at the 11-minute mark.
Trogele stopped a four-minute scoreless streak with a reverse layup from under the basket to slice into the lead. O'Rourke notched a steal and tossed the outlet pass to Williams who then connected with Grant for the layup to make it a 14-8 game with just over 10 minutes to play. Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton forced Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) into her third foul of the half and converted on both free throws, but the Lions immediately responded with a reverse spin layup by Grant to make it a six-point deficit (16-10).
Following a three-pointer by Jodi Howell that made it a nine-point game (19-10), Grant converted on a jumper that bounced around the rim and in. However, the Boilers would score the game's next 12 points to extend their lead to 31-12 with just under four minutes left in the half. Trogele ended a four-minute drought by the Lady Lions with a fade away jumper in the paint, but the Boilers got a basket by Danielle Campbell on their ensuing offensive possession to keep the lead at 17 points (33-14) with three minutes on the clock.
Trogele converted on an old-fashioned three-point play and O'Rourke netted a jumper at the elbow to slice the Purdue lead to 14 points (33-19) with two minutes to play, but a turnover by Williams led to a three-point play by Howell with one second left to send the squads into the locker room with Purdue holding a 36-19 lead.
The Lady Lions were tough on the glass early on as they jumped out to a 9-2 advantage on the glass, but Purdue outrebounded the Lions the rest of the way and went into the half with a 20-18 lead in the rebounding category at the break. Trogele led the way for the Lady Lions with seven points at the half to go along with three rebounds, while Grant added six points and two boards. Lewis had two points and five rebounds in just seven minutes in the opening frame as she was saddled with foul trouble.
Penn State came out in the second half with a renewed offensive attitude as they scored eight of the first 10 points to open the half thanks to a three-pointer and jumper by Grant and a three-point play by Trogele to cut the Purdue to lead 11 points (38-27) with 17:34 on the clock. However, the Boilers would push the lead back to 14 points with three-straight tallies, but a three-point play by Williams brought the deficit back to 11 points (41-30) with 15 minutes to play.
The squads swapped baskets to keep the margin at 11 points before O'Rourke drained a three-pointer to make it an eight-point game at 43-35 with 13:40 on the clock. The lead stayed at eight for nearly the next four minutes as the teams continued to trade scoring opportunities, but that was as close as the Lady Lions would climb because a 6-0 run by the Boilers extended the lead to 14 points (55-41) with 7:38 remaining.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions were without the services of Janessa Wolff, who returned to Minnesota due to a death in the family...The Lady Lions are now 14-21 against the Boilermakers, with a 9-6 mark at home...Tyra Grant led the team with 14 points and now has a total of 1,378 points...Mashea Williams now has a total of 527 assists, moving her up one spot to 19th place on the all-time list...This is the first game in Big Ten play in which the Lady Lions have not lead at any point in the contest.
The Lady Lions travel to Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 22 for the Illini Pink Zone Day at 3 p.m. (Eastern), before returning to the Jordan Center to face Northwestern on Senior Day on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. The Lady Lions will also celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day against the Wildcats. 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 online auction will run until Monday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. Items that will be available up for bid include all 13 of the uniforms worn by the Lady Lions for the Pink Zone game, as well as a one-week timeshare for anywhere in the world, Penn State football experiences, NASCAR experience and autographed memorabilia. For more information on the Pink Zone Online Auction, visit the Pink Zone auction website (http://psupinkzone.cstvauctions.com). The funds raised from the online auction benefit the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Dine at Harrison's the week after WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State game on February 15, 2009 and mention Pink Zone and 20% of the check before taxes and gratuity will directly benefit Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. There is no limit to the number of times you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner between February 16 - 21, 2009 to benefit these charities. The more that you, your family and friends enjoy delicious food at Harrison's, the greater the fundraising benefit! In fact, tell others who would like to support our efforts, just have them mention the Lady Lions Pink Zone, WBCA or simply, the fight against Breast Cancer when they dine at Harrison's that week and we will continue to score important funds to beat breast cancer! Harrison's is locally owned and conveniently located on E. College Avenue, within the Hilton Garden Inn.