March 1, 2009
2009 Big Ten Tournament Bracket
COLUMBUS, OHIO - The Penn State Lady Lions (11-17, 6-12) could not overcome the inside presence of Jantel Lavender (28 pts.) and Star Allen (25) in a 74-63 loss at Big Ten regular-season champion #14/14 Ohio State (24-5, 15-3) on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams. With the loss, the Lions will be the eighth seed in the Big Ten Tournament and face ninth-seeded Illinois on Thursday, March 5 at 5 p.m.
Senior Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) and junior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) paced the Lady Lion attack with 14 points apiece. Williams also added three rebounds and three assists, while Grant contributed two rebounds and a blocked shots. Sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) was the third Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds and a steal. Junior Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) had a career night as she tied her career mark with eight points and set a personal best with nine rebounds, while senior Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in nine points and five assists.
Allen did not feel any hangover from the senior day festivities before the game as she scored 10 of OSU's first 12 points to give the Buckeyes an 12-3 lead with 15:23 left in the opening frame. A 5-0 spurt by that Lady Lions tanks to a three-pointer by Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) and a jumper by O'Rourke cut it to 12-8 with 14:42 on the clock. However, the Buckeyes immediately responded with 12 straight points to extend their lead to 16 points at 24-8 with just under 11 minutes left.
Trogele stopped the four-plus minute scoreless streak for the Lady Lions with a pair of free throws to make it a 24-10 game with 10 and a half minutes remaining. Grant converted on a scoop shot on the ensuing offensive possession to start a quick 9-0 run by the Lions that included buckets by Williams and Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.) and a three-pointer by O'Rourke to cut the deficit to five points at 24-19 with seven and a half minutes left.
The Buckeyes continued their tough offensive attack as they scored 16 of the next 21 points in the game to extend their lead to 40-24 with just under three minutes left in the half. Williams scored a basket to slice into the lead, but OSU responded with four straight points. Williams would connect on a two free throws with 32 seconds left to send the teams into the locker room with the Buckeyes holding a 44-28 lead.
Ohio State scored the first four tallies of the 48- half to extend their lead to 20 points (48-28) before the Lions got a three-pointer by Grant and a rebound and putback by Monroe to bring the deficit back to 15 points (48-33) with 17 and a half minutes left. After sandwiching a Grant layup around a pair of Buckeye baskets, the Lions fought back to with scores of their own by Monroe, Williams and O'Rourke to make it a 52-41 game with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
After a pair of Lavender free throws, the Lions used a jumper by Williams and a basket by Monroe to cut the lead to single digits at 54-45 with 12:38 on the clock. The lead remained at nine points for the next four minutes until two free throws by Samantha Prahalis and a layup by Lavender pushed the lead back to 13 points (63-50). The Lady Lions weren't done fighting as they reeled off seven straight points thanks to three points by Williams and two tallies apiece by Grant and Monroe.
The Buckeyes scored the game's next three points, all from the free throw line, before a jumper by Trogele cut the deficit back to seven points (66-59) with four and a half minutes left in the game. After the squads swapped scoring opportunities, the Buckeyes pushed the lead back to 11 points on back-to-back baskets, where the lead would remain until the final buzzer.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions will be the eighth seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on March 5-8...Tyra Grant moved into 13th place on the Penn State career scoring list with 1,431 points, passing Jen Bednarek (1,428)...Mashea Williams moved into a tie for 17th place on the all-time assists chart with 237 career helpers...Junior Meredith Monroe tied her career high with eight points and set a personal mark wit nine rebounds...Despite her 14 points tonight, Grant lost the Big Ten scoring title by a single point to Jantel Lavender of Ohio State.
The Lady Lions will be the No. 8 seed in the 2009 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament and will face ninth-seeded Illinois at 5 p.m. on the Thursday, March 5. The winner of the 8 vs. 9 game will meet top-ranked Ohio State on Friday at 6 p.m. For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.