Nov. 27, 2009
ORONO, MAINE - The Penn State Lady Lions (3-1) shot 56.3% (18-32) and scored 50 points in the second half en route to a dominating 86-65 win over Buffalo (1-2) in the first round of the Dead River Company Classic hosted by the University of Maine. The Lady Lions will face Holy Cross in the Championship game at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Alfond Arena.
Sophomore Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) turned in the best performances of her career with a game-high 19 points via a 6-for-9 shooting performance, including a 4-for-5 mark from behind the arc. Gray's four treys are also a career high. Gray also chipped in five assists and a steal. With 18 points this afternoon, senior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) moved past Vicki Link (1,514) for 10th place on Penn State's all-time scoring chart. Grant now has 1,529 career tallies. Grant also accounted for four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) notched her third career double-double with 11 points and a game-best 11 rebounds. She also dished out three assists, blocked a shot and had two steals. Freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) accounted for nine points, three rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) registered a career-best seven points, passing her previous career mark of six points set earlier this season.
The Bulls took the early 5-3 lead just under three minutes into the game, but Penn State responded with a layup by Trogele and a pair of three-pointers by Gray to take an 11-5 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half. Following one free throw by Kourtney Brown, Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) knocked down a 15-footer and Phillips converted on a fastbreak layup to push the lead to nine points (15-6). Buffalo scored on the ensuing possession, but Bentley scored the next five points of the game to give the Lady Lions a 20-8 lead with 12:44 on the clock.
A four-point play by Abby Dowd slice the Lady Lion lead to eight points (20-12) with 11:23 left in the opening frame. On the next Lady Lion possession, Monroe grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball in to push the lead back to 10. Bentley extended the Penn State lead to 12 with a layup on the break before two Buffalo free throws brought the margin back to 10 points. The lead remained at 10 points until Buffalo went on a 9-4 run over the final four minutes of the half to make it a 36-31 game going into the break.
Bentley led the Lady Lions with seven points in the opening half to go along with two rebounds and a steal. Trogele and Gray added six tallies each in the first half. Trogele also accounted for four rebounds and two steals. Eight different players scored for the Lady Lions in the first half.
The Lady Lions came out firing from deep to start the second half with three-pointers by Grant and Gray, which were sandwiched around a Buffalo basket to give Penn State a 42-33 lead two minutes into the second period. However, the Bulls continued to fight and went on a 5-2 run to make it a six-point game (44-38) with 16:20 to play. Grant started a 7-2 run to take a 51-40 lead with 12 and a half minutes left in the game. Monroe and Greene each scored a basket during the run and Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) converted on one of her two free throw attempts.
Following a Buffalo basket by Dowd, the teams swapped three-pointers to make it a 54-45 game with 11:48 remaining. Trogele converted on an old-fashioned three-point play and Grant knocked down a three-pointer to jump-start an 8-0 Lady Lion run. Wolff capped the Penn State spurt with a layup to give the Lady Lions a 62-45 lead with 9:07 on the clock.
The Bulls rallied with a 6-2 run to make it a 64-51 game with just under seven left in the game. The squads exchanged points over the next two minutes before the Lions scored the game's next four points thanks to a layup from Wolff and a pair of free throws from Grant to make is an 18-point Penn State lead (72-54) with five minutes to play. The lead remained at 18 until the Lady Lions closed the game out with five consecutive free throws for the 21-point win.
GAME NOTES: Senior Tyra Grant moved into 10th place on Penn State's all-time scoring list, passing Vicki Link (1,514). Grant has 1,529 career points...Sophomore Zhaque Gray had a career-high 19 points, surpassing her previous career mark of 17 against Stony Brook on Nov. 19, 2008...Penn State is now 1-0 all-time against Buffalo...The Lady Lions are 120-48 all-time in regular-season tournament games...Junior Julia Trogele has now made her last 19 free throws, dating back to last season...Sophomore Emily Phillips had a career-high seven points, passing her previous career high set at Drexel earlier this season...Junior Janessa Wolff had her consecutive free throws made snapped at 15 with a miss on her first free throw attempt of the game in the second half...Senior Nicole Arcidiacono (0-1) and sophomore Emily Phillips (3-4) took their first career free throw attempts...The Lady Lions will meet Holy Cross in the Dead River Company Classic Championship game...Penn State is 2-0 all-time versus Holy Cross.
The Lady Lions return to the friendly confines of 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.