Nov. 28, 2009
ORONO, MAINE - After nearly an hour delay due to a power outage in the Orono arena, the Penn State Lady Lions (5-1) needed a late 11-2 run to fend off a feisty Holy Cross (3-4) to earn a 52-48 win for the Dead River Company Classic championship hosted by the University of Maine. Senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) was selected as the Tournament MVP, while freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) was named to the All-Tournament team.
Grant paced the Lady Lions with 13 points to go along with three rebounds and a blocked shot, while Bentley accounted for 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Freshman Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) turned in a solid performance with nine points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks. Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) chipped in seven points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
With the distraction of the one-hour delay and cold temperatures on the floor to start the game, both teams struggled to get started as the teams combined for three field goals and one free throw in the first seven minutes of the game to allow Holy Cross to take a 6-2 lead. The Lady Lions responded with back to back baskets by Bentley, who scored Penn State's first six points, to tie the game at 6-6 with 12 minutes left in the opening half.
Senior Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) gave Penn State an 8-6 lead with a layup off of a pass from Bentley, but the Crusaders tied the game at 8-8 with less than 10 minutes to play in the half. Following Monroe's basket, the Lady Lions went on a nearly five-minute scoring drought, but used their defense to keep the game tied.
With 6:53 remaining in the half, Greene grabbed a rebound and laid the ball in to give Penn State a 10-8 lead, but as Greene was shooting the ball, Grant was fouled off of the ball. Grant went to the free throw line for a one-and-one and made both shots to push the Lady Lion lead to four points (12-8). The Crusaders got a basket by Whitney Fremeau to slice the lead, but Trogele brought the lead back to four points on a rebound and putback.
Holy Cross then went on a 6-1 run thanks to three-pointers sandwiched around one Greene free throw to take a 16-15 lead with 4:42 left in the first half. The Lady Lions retook the lead when Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) found Greene under the basket for an easy layup with less than four minutes to go in the opening frame. The Crusaders gained a two-point advantage on a three-pointer by Amy Lepley, but a great pass from Trogele to Greene tied the game at 19-19 with less than three minutes to go in the half. The squads swapped scores before Holy Cross scored the game's next three points to take a 24-21 lead with 1:22 on the clock. The Lady Lions capped the scoring in the first half with a basket by Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) with five seconds left.
Greene led the Lady Lions with nine points in the first half to go along with four rebounds and two blocks, while Bentley added six points. Bethany O'Dell led all scorers in the opening frame with 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
The Crusaders stretched their lead to three points with a basket by O'Dell to open the second half. Trogele powered in for a layup and Bentley made one of two free throws to even the game 26-26 with 18:27 left. The teams swapped scores to keep the game tied until a Briana McFadden three-pointer and a pair of buckets by Fremeau gave Holy Cross a 35-30 lead with just under 12 minutes to play.
Grant stopped Holy Cross' 7-0 run with jumper to cut the Lady Lion deficit to three points (35-32) with 11:49 left in the game. Following a McFadden basket, Trogele connected on one of two free throws and Grant drained the first three-pointer of the game for the Lady Lions to give Penn State a 38-37 lead with eight minutes to play. Just one minute later, Holy Cross regained the lead with two free throws by Fremeau.
On the ensuing Penn State possession, Wolff made one of her two free throw attempts to tie the game at 39-39 with 6:47 and jumpstart an 11-2 run to give the Lady Lions a 49-41 lead with less than three minutes to play. Monroe keyed the run with a rebound and putback when Bentley missed the front end of a one-and-one. Grant added four points, while Trogele and Bentley each added buckets for Penn State during the spurt.
The Crusaders continued to battle, scoring the next four points of the game to cut the Penn State lead to 49-45 with less than two minutes to play. Wolff pushed the Penn State lead back to six points (51-45) with 1:33 on the clock. The Crusaders had ample opportunity from the free throw line over the final minute but were only able to convert on three of their final seven free throw attempts.
GAME NOTES: The start of the Penn State-Holy Cross game was delayed nearly an hour due to a power outage in Orono that effected campus and the surrounding towns...Senior Tyra Grant moved into ninth place on Penn State's career scoring list (1,542), passing Tanya Garner...Grant was named Tournament MVP of the Dead River Company Classic, while freshman Alex Bentley was named to the All-Tournament team...The Dead River Company Classic championship is the 26th regular-season title all-time for Penn State...The Lady Lions are now 121-48 all-time in regular-season tournament games...Junior Julia Trogele had her consecutive free throws made streak snapped at 20...After making a season-high seven three-pointers against Buffalo yesterday, Penn State made just one trey today...The Lady Lions are 3-0 all-time against Holy Cross...Penn State is 16-0 all-time against Patriot League schools...Maine topped Buffalo in the consolation game of the Dead River Company Classic.
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.