Jan. 31, 2010
ANN ARBOR, MICH. - The No. 23 Penn State Lady Lions (15-6, 7-4) led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but a 15-2 run to start the second half gave Michigan (13-8, 5-6) momentum on the way to a 66-62 victory over the Lady Lions Sunday. The loss snaps Penn State's three-game road winning streak.
Senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led all scorers with 19 points to go along with six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) added 11 points and seven rebounds, while senior Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) added seven points, nine rebounds and two steals. Freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) contributed eight points, five assists and two steals.
The squads swapped baskets to open the game before the Lady Lions reeled off nine consecutive points to take an 11-2 lead with 15:47 remaining. Grant started the run with a steal and layup on the offensive end and capped the spurt with a three-pointer, while Bentley and Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) added baskets. Following a pair of Michigan free throws, Penn State stretched the lead 21-6 with a 10-2 run just under 12 minutes remaining. Grant paced the Lions during the run with four points, while Trogele, Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) and Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) added two points each.
Krista Phillips stopped the Penn State run with a three-pointer, but the Lady Lions responded with a layup by Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) off of a great steal and pass from Bentley to make it 23-9 with 10:21 on the clock. The Wolverines fought back with a 13-2 run to move within a single point at 25-24 with five and a half minutes left before Gray stopped the run with a jumper.
Gray's jumper sparked a 9-2 run for Penn State in the final 5:21 of the first half. Greene added a layup off of an inbounds play, Gray converted on a fastbreak layup off of a pass from Bentley and Monroe made one of two free throw attempts before Bentley knocked down a jumper with 15 seconds left to give the Lady Lions a 34-26 lead at the break.
Grant led the Lady Lions with nine points to go along with a pair of steals, while Gray and Bentley added six points each in the opening frame. The Lady Lions shot 51.7% (15-29) in the first half. Carmen Reynolds led all scorers with 11 points.
The Wolverines came out on fire in the second half, going on a 15-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 41-36 with 15:28 remaining in the game. The squads swapped baskets for the next four scores until a jumper by Grant and a hook shot by Wolff pulled Penn State within a point at 45-44 with less than 13 minutes remaining. However, the Wolverines scored the game's next five points to take a 50-44 advantage with 11 minutes on the clock.
After an exchange of baskets, Trogele drained a three-pointer and Monroe hit a 15-footer to make it a 52-51 game with less than seven minutes left. The Wolverines responded on the ensuing possession with a basket by Deyeesha Hollins, but Penn State rallied back with a jumper by Grant and a pair of free throws by Trogele to take a one-point lead at 55-54 with 5:03 on the clock. The Wolverines scored six of the game's next seven points to take a 60-56 lead with just over three minutes to play.
Grant took the Lady Lions on her back and scored back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 60-60 with 1:38 on the clock. After Jenny Ryan missed the front-end of a one-and-one, Reynolds pulled in the offensive rebound and handed the ball to Hollins who was fouled by Bentley. Hollins made one of her two free throw attempts to give Michigan a one-point lead. Monroe pulled in the rebound on Wolff's missed jumper, but was tied up and the possession arrow favored Michigan. On the ensuing Wolverine possession, Phillips drained a three-pointer to give Michigan a 64-60 lead with 14.4 seconds left.
On the ensuing Penn State possession, Trogele was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebounds and made both of her free throw attempts to cut the deficit in half with three seconds to go. However, Courtney Boylan was fouled on the in-bounds pass and made both attempts to seal the win for Michigan.
The Lady Lions travel to Michigan State on Thurs., Feb. 4, before returning to the Bryce Jordan Center for a Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7) meeting with No. 4/6 Ohio State at 1 p.m. The Ohio State game is a Subway Full Court Four Pack game where fans can get four tickets, four sodas and a voucher for four 6" Subway subs (offer not valid the BJC Subway) for $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 took place on Sunday, Jan. 24 when the Lady Lions take on Illinois in the Bryce Jordan Center. The first three Pink Zone events have raised more than $80,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information or to donate online to 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.