Nov. 19, 2009
LEWISBURG, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (3-0) shook off the cobwebs of the hour-long bus ride to Lewisburg to turn in a dominating performance in a 77-62 win over Bucknell (0-3) Thursday night at Sojka Pavilion. Penn State landed four players in double figures for the second-straight game to move to 3-0 for the fourth-straight season.
Sophomore Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) and freshman Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) paced the Lady Lions with 11 points apiece. Gray also chipped in three rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Greene had three rebounds, three steals and a career-best three blocks. Freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) turned in her second consecutive double-digit scoring performance with 10 tallies to go along with four assists.
Senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio), who did not play in the first half, stretched her consecutive double-figure scoring streak to 15 games with 10 points. Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) added eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
The Lady Lions got off to a quick start with back-to-back baskets by Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) and Gray to take a 4-0 lead just over a minute into the game. Penn State would make it a 7-2 margin before the Bison scored four consecutive points to cut the lead to 7-6 with less than 17 minutes left in the half. However, the Lions bounced back with a 7-0 thanks to four points by Trogele and three points by Greene to make it an eight-point game (14-6) with 14 and a half minutes on the clock.
The lead remained eight for the next several minutes until the Bison went on a 5-0 run to cut the Lady Lion lead to three points at 18-15 with 10:42 left in the half. Gray sparked an 11-0 run for the Lady Lions with a three-pointer, which was followed by a basket by Bentley and four consecutive points by Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.). Gray capped the run with another bucket to make it 29-15 with seven and a half minutes to play. Bucknell sliced the lead to nine points with two and a half minutes left, but Penn State ended the frame with back-to-back baskets by Womack and Bentley to head into the locker room with a 39-27 lead.
Gray and Womack led Penn State in the opening half with eight points and three rebounds apiece. Greene chipped in five points, two rebounds and a block, while Monroe and Trogele each chipped in two blocks in the opening frame.
The lead remained steady at the start of the second half until a three-point play for Rachel Voss and a basket by Morgan Wrightson cut the Lady Lion lead to eight, but a layup by Greene stopped the Bucknell spurt and pushed the lead back to 10 (47-37) with just under 17 minutes left. Grant followed with her first basket of the game before Bentley knocked down a pair of free throws and Gray drained her second three-pointer of the game. Grant capped the 12-0 Lady Lion run with an old-fashioned three-point play to extend Penn State's lead to 20 points (57-37) with 14:23 remaining in the game.
After an exchange of points, the Bison scored three straight points to cut the lead to 17 (59-42), but the Lady Lions responded as Grant was fouled on a three-point attempt. She made the first two shots, but came up short on the third. Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) pulled in the rebound and knocked down a 12-footer to make it a 63-42 Lady Lion lead with 12:33 left in the game. The Lady Lions added to their lead with a three-pointer by Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) and a layup by Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) to push the margin to 26 points (68-42) with just over 10 minutes left.
The Bison would not go quietly as they reeled off a 13-1 run thanks to a nearly five-minute field goal drought for Penn State that included six turnovers. With the score 71-57 and four minutes remaining, Trogele knocked down a pair of free throws and Bentley scored on a jumper to make it a 75-57 game. Bucknell outscored the Lady Lions 5-2 in the final three minutes to make it a 77-62 win for the Lady Lions.
GAME NOTES: Tyra Grant had her string of 34 consecutive starts, dating back to Feb. 28, 2008...Meredith Monroe earned her third career start in Grant's place...Janessa Wolff surpassed the 400-point plateau for her career with six tallies. She now has 403 points in her three seasons...Julia Trogele reached the 300-point mark for her career with eight points. She has 303 points in her career...The Lady Lions are 3-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
The Lady Lions continue their four-game road trip in South Carolina when they take on the Gamecocks Sunday at 3 p.m. Penn State then travels to Maine for the Dead River Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, before returning to the Bryce Jordan Center on Wed., Dec. 2 to face Georgia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at 6:30 p.m. Single-game tickets can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.
The 2010 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Illinois in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first three Pink Zone events have raised more than $80,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, 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.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow head coach Coquese Washington (@psucoachquese), sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and assistant coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook. Search Lady Lion Basketball and become a fan.