Nov. 22, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Penn State Lady Lions (3-1) had a slow start to their day and were never able to recover on the way to a 63-56 loss at South Carolina (2-1) Sunday afternoon. In a very physical game, the Lady Lions had four players foul out, turned the ball over 21 times, 17 of which came in the first half, and shot just 28.6% from the field.
After a slow first half, senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led three Lady Lions in double figures with 18 points, including 15 tallies in the second frame. She also pulled in six rebounds and blocked two shots before fouling out with 24 seconds left. Sophomore Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) reached double figures for the third consecutive game with 11 points to go along with six rebounds, while freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) also turned in her third-straight double-digit scoring performance with 10 tallies. Bentley also added four rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) had a solid performance with five points, nine rebounds and two blocks before fouling out. Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.), the team's leading rebounder, was never able to get things going as she was hit with early foul trouble and only managed one rebounds and one assist in eight minutes before fouling out with nearly five minutes left in the game.
Greene got the Lady Lions on the board first with a putback on a fastbreak layup miss by Gray, but South Carolina went on an 16-2 run as Penn State was plagued by 10 turnovers and shot just 12.5% (2-16) in the first 11 and a half minutes of the game. With the Gamecocks leading 16-4, Bentley stopped Penn State's seven-plus minute scoring drought with a layup to cut the deficit to 10 points (16-6) with just over eight minutes to play in the opening frame.
Bentley added another jumper in the lane and Grant drained a pair of free throws to make it a 16-10 game with 5:34 on the clock. The Gamecocks brought the lead back to eight points on a steal and layup by Valerie Nainima, but Bentley answered for the Lady Lions with a drive and a bucket.
Following a South Carolina basket, Grant knocked down one of two free throws and Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.) converted on a layup to cut the Gamecock lead to five points (20-15) with two minutes to go in the half. However, South Carolina would go on an 8-0 run to end the half to give the Gamecocks a 28-15 advantage going into the break.
Bentley had a team-best six points on 3-of-6 shooting, while Grant added three tallies, despite missing all nine of her shots from the field in the opening half. The Lady Lions shot just 20.7% (6-29) from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 17 times.
The Lady Lions shook off their first half shooting woes as they started the second frame on a 14-1 run. Grant opened the run with a pair of free throws, followed by a bucket by Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) off of a nifty pass by Gray. Gray continued the Lady Lion run with a basket of her own to make it a 28-21 game with just over 18 minutes left in the game. After a single South Carolina free throw, Greene connected on one of her two free throw attempts and Gray added a pair of free throws. Grant, who had not scored from the field to that point, connected on an old-fashioned three-point play to bring Penn State within two points (29-27) with 16:58 on the clock.
Penn State had back-to-back chances to tie the game, but Grant was unable to convert on either of her layup attempts on consecutive trips down the court. The Lady Lions were finally able to even the score with a runner in the lane by Bentley with 15 and a half minutes left. South Carolina responded with three consecutive baskets for a 35-29 lead with 14:09 on the clock.
The Lady Lions showed poise as Grant drained her first three-pointer of the game and Gray knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled on her drive to the basket. Penn State took the lead for the first time since the opening minute of the game when Greene laid the ball in to give the Lady Lions a 36-35 advantage with 12:33 to play. The teams swapped single points on free throws before South Carolina scored four consecutive points to take a 40-37 lead with just over nine minutes to play.
Grant pulled the Lions within one point (40-39) with a layup at the nine-minute mark, but South Carolina scored a bucket of their own on the next possession to make it a 42-39 game with 8:39 remaining. After a Grant layup and one Gamecock free throw, Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) scored her first points of the game to tie the game at 43-43 with 7:39 to play. However, South Carolina would immediately respond with a three-pointer by Nainima and a layup by Kelsey Bone to take a five-point lead with just over six minutes remaining.
The lead remained five until South Carolina scored four consecutive points to push the Gamecock lead to nine (56-47) with 2:22 remaining. Grant snapped a nearly six-minute long field goal drought with a 15-footer to make it a 56-49 game with two minutes left. On the ensuing possession, Charenee Stephens pulled in the Bone miss and laid it in to push the lead back to nine (58-49) with 1:25 left in the game. Gray kept the Lady Lions in the game with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to six (58-52). Nainima made one of two free throws for the Gamecocks to make it a three-possession game, but Monroe responded with a pair of free throws to make it a 59-54 game with 27 seconds left. South Carolina only made four of their six free throw attempts in the final 27 seconds, but it was enough to seal the win.
GAME NOTES: Senior Tyra Grant surpassed the 1,500-point plateau for her career with 18 points...The Lady Lions are now 4-4 all-time against the Gamecocks, including a 1-2 mark in Columbia...Penn State is 19-27 all-time against SEC teams...Penn State's 55 rebounds are the most for a Lady Lion team since they had 55 boards against Northwestern on Jan. 22, 2006.
The Lady Lions complete their four-game road trip when they travel to Maine for the Dead River Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. Penn State will face Buffalo in the opening round of the tournament and will meet either the host Black Bears or Holy Cross on day two. The Lady Lions return 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.