Jan. 14, 2010
IOWA CITY, IOWA - The Penn State Lady Lions (12-4, 4-2) used an 11-0 surge late in the second half to come from behind and post a 68-62 win over Iowa (8-9, 1-5) Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win is the first for the Lady Lions in Iowa City since 2005 and gives Penn State the season sweep over the Hawkeyes for the first time since 2006. Additionally, Penn State surpasses its win total from a year ago with its 12th victory of the season.
Senior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led the way for the Lady Lions with her ninth 20-point game of the season with a team-best 20 tallies. She also had a pair of assists and three steals. Freshman point guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) accounted for 15 points, five assists and a pair of steals, while fellow rookie Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) tied her career-high with 12 points via a 6-for-11 shooting effort. Greene also pulled down eight rebounds.
Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) played a pivotal role in the offense with eight points, a personal-best seven assists, nine rebounds and three steals. For the second-straight game, every player that entered the contest scored for the Lady Lions, who shot 50% (15-for-30) in the second half in the victory.
Both teams got off to a quick start as the teams combined to make six of the first nine shots of the game as Iowa took a 9-6 lead with 17:30 left in the first half. However, neither team scored over the next two-plus minutes until Jaime Printy scored five consecutive points to give the Hawkeyes a 14-6 lead with 14 minutes left.
Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) snapped a four and a half minute scoreless drought with a three-pointer to pull Penn State within five points (14-9), but the Hawkeyes scored back-to-back baskets to stretch their lead to 18-9 with 12 minutes remaining. Buckets by Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) and Greene off of a nice pass from Trogele cut into the Iowa lead and made it an 18-13 game with 10:47 left.
The Hawkeye scored the next four points of the game before Grant scored three-straight points to start an 11-2 run over the next four and a half minutes. Bentley had four points and Greene added her third layup of the game from Trogele during the run. Grant capped the run with a jumper and tied the game at 24-24 with 4:19 on the clock. Iowa scored five points in the final four minutes and held Penn State scoreless during that span to take a 29-24 lead at the break.
Grant led Penn State with seven points and a pair of steals, while Bentley and Greene accounted for six points apiece. Trogele tied her career high with five assists in the opening frame. Printy led all scorers with 12 points.
After getting a defensive stop to open the frame, Grant drove the lane for the layup and cut the deficit to three points, but Iowa responded with a three-pointer from Kelly Krei to make it a 32-26 game in the first minute of the second half. Greene laid the ball in and Grant found Bentley streaking down the court for a fastbreak layup to slice the Iowa lead to 32-30 with 18:23 left.
After another basket by Krei, Greene grabbed a rebound and converted on the layup, followed by one free throw by Grant to make it a one-point game. One the ensuing Penn State possession, Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) grabbed a rebound off of a Greene miss and put it back to give the Lady Lions their first lead of the game at 35-34 with 14:14 remaining. However, the Hawkeyes responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Printy and Krei to start a 10-0 run and give Iowa a 44-35 lead with less than 11 minutes to play.
The squads exchanged scoring opportunities to keep the Iowa lead at nine points until Bentley ignited an 11-0 run with a three-pointer and a fastbreak layup. Grant knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lady Lions a 51-49 lead with 6:24 on the clock. The Hawkeyes' Krei nailed a three-pointer, but Penn State immediately responded with a Trogele's second three-pointer of the night.
The teams continued to battle down the stretch with neither team taking control of the game. The Lady Lions secured the win by making six of their seven free throw attempts in the final 34 seconds.
GAME NOTES: Penn State surpasses its win total from a year ago with its 12th win of the season...The Lady Lions win for the first time in Iowa City since the 2004-05 season...Penn State improves to 21-16 all-time against Iowa...The Lady Lions sweep the season series against the Hawkeyes for the first time since 2006 when the teams only played one time during the season...Tyra Grant notched her 35th career 20-point game and ninth of the season with 20 tallies to lead Penn State...Nikki Greene tied her career high with 12 points...Julia Trogele had a personal-best seven assists to go along with nine rebounds and eight points.
The Lady Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, Jan. 17 to face Michigan State at 1 p.m. on Autograph Day. The Subway Full Court Four-Pack is available for the Michigan State game. The deal includes four game tickets, four sodas and four vouchers for a 6" Subway sub at any State College location (BJC excluded) for just $40. 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 hold several camps throughout the summer. There is a Lady Lion Basketball Camp available for girls of all ages, ranging from shooting camp to elite camp. The 2010 Lady Lion Basketball Camp schedule is as follows: Shooting Camp (June 13-15), Elite Camp (June 20-22), Skills Camp (June 20-23), Total Package Team Camp (June 24-26) and Games Galore Team Camp (August 6-8). For more information on Lady Lion Basketball Camps, please visit psusportscamps.com and click on Lady Lion Basketball Camp.
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.