Feb. 9, 2009
The Penn State Lady Lions (9-13, 4-8) used a balanced scoring attack to end a 14-game road with a 64-56 victory over Michigan (10-14, 3-10) Thursday night. The Lions, who won on the road for the first time since Jan. 5, 2008 when they topped Michigan State in East Lansing, had six players with eight or more points, led by junior Tyra Grant's (Youngstown, Ohio) 15 points. Grant was solid down the stretch as she was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final five seconds.
Grant also accounted for seven rebounds and a key steal in the waning moments. Sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) was impressive in her return to the lineup as she accounted for 11 points and eight rebounds. Trogele missed the Minnesota game after injuring her ankle against Iowa. Freshman Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) was on fire it the first half as she scored 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night.
Senior Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added nine points and three assists, while Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) added eight tallies and three helpers. Sophomore Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) continued her solid play with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. As they did in their first game against the Wolverines, the Lady Lions dominated on the glass, outrebounding Michigan by a 38-28 margin.
The game started with a very quick pace and the teams found themselves tied at 7-7 four minutes into the game. Wolff grabbed the rebound off of an O'Rourke miss and converted on the layup to give the Lions a 9-7 lead. However, Benson scored four-straight points to give the Wolverines a two-point lead (11-9) with just under 14 minutes left in the half, but the Lady Lions fought back as Gray knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to put Penn State up by a 15-11 margin.
Trailing by four, Michigan rattled off eight consecutive points to establish a 19-15 lead with 9:20 to play in the opening frame. Trogele stopped Penn State's nearly six-minute scoring drought with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to a single point at 19-18. Following a basket by Stephany Skrba, the Lady Lions tightened their defense and found their offensive rhythm as they went on a 8-0 thanks to four points by Grant, a two tallies each by Trogele and Gray to take a five-point lead at 26-21 with 3:35 on the clock. Krista Phillips stopped a nearly six-minute drought for the Wolverines with a basket and Carmen Reynolds added a three-pointer to tie the game at 26-26 with under a minute to play in the half. Gray capped the scoring for the half with a three-pointer to send Penn State into the locker room with a 29-26 lead.
Gray was outstanding in the first half for the Lady Lions as she was 4-for-4, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range, en route to 11 points. Trogele added five points and a pair of rebounds, while Grant and Wolff added four tallies apiece. Reynolds, who entered the game averaging 5.5 points per game, scored nine points in the first half and had two blocks to lead the Wolverines.
Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) grabbed a rebound and putback on Penn State's first offensive possession to extend the Lady Lion lead to five points (31-26) just 26 seconds into the period. After the squads swapped baskets, Michigan scored four consecutive points to cut the lead to a single point (33-32) with 17:35 left in the game.
O'Rourke scored two baskets that were sandwiched around a pair of Jessica Minnfield free throws to push the lead to three at 37-34 at the 15:25 mark. Unfortunately for Penn State, O'Rourke picked up her fourth foul of the game just 19 seconds later and was relegated to the bench until the 8:09 mark. The Wolverines took advantage of having O'Rourke off the court as they scored seven consecutive points to take a 41-37 lead with just over 14 minutes to play.
The squads swapped baskets with Wolff's jumper and Grant's three-pointer accounting for PSU's scoring in that stretch to keep the Michigan lead at four points (46-42) with 11 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Lady Lions continued to claw back as Trogele's old-fashioned three-point play sparked a 16-3 run. Williams accounted for three baskets, Trogele chipped in six points and Wolff and Grant each connected on a layups during the run that pushed Penn State to a nine-point lead at 58-49 with five and half minutes to play.
Michigan rebounded from the Penn State run with seven consecutive points of their own to make it a 58-56 game with 1:52 on the clock. On an entry pass into the post, Trogele reached around to knock the ball away and into the arms of Grant, who ran the floor before smartly pulling the ball out and allowing Coquese Washington to call a timeout. On the ensuing offensive possession, Williams' shot bounced off the rim, but Trogele was in perfect position for the offensive rebound. The Lions pulled the ball out to reset the offense, but Williams turned the ball over. However, O'Rourke pick-pocketed Minnfield to regain possession and earned the intentional foul on Carly Benson. Grant, who was fouled by Benson, knocked down both of her free throws to make it a 60-56 lead with five seconds left.
The Lady Lions regained possession because of the intentional foul and Grant was sent to the free throw line again. However, before Grant made it to the line, Michigan head coach Kevin Borseth received a technical foul, giving Grant four free throws. Grant was true on all four of her attempts, finding nothing but net for the final margin.
GAME NOTES: This was Penn State's first true road win since Jan. 5, 2008, a string of 14 consecutive games...With 15 points tonight, junior Tyra Grant became the 16th player in school history to reach the 1,300-point mark for her career. She now has 1,314 points in her three seasons at PSU...Sophomore Janessa Wolff moved into 17th place on Penn State's all-time blocks list, passing Jacquelyn Shook (2001-02), as she blocked her 48th career shot.
The Lady Lions visit Wisconsin on Thursday before returning to the BJC for the Third Annual WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith. Fans will receive a Pink Lady Lion Basketball hat at the gates, while supplies last, and there will be a special presentation to honor breast cancer survivors at halftime. 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. 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 kick off on Monday at noon. 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 and autographed memorabilia. For more information on the Pink Zone Online Auction, visit the Pink Zone auction website (http://psupinkzone.cstvauctions.com) on Monday.