Feb. 11, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (15-9, 7-7) led by eight points with 5:33 remaining, but Minnesota (11-12, 4-8) closed the game on a 17-2 run to earn a 59-52 victory over Penn State Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions have now lost five consecutive games for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign. The Golden Gophers made more free throws (28) than Penn State had field goals (23) and were outstanding from the charity stripe, shooting 90.3%.
After being held scoreless in the first half, senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) had 11 consecutive points in the second half to lead Penn State's offensive effort. Sophomore Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) came off of the bench to go 5-for-10 from the field en route to 10 points, while junior Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) tallied nine points and three rebounds against her home state team. Freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) added eight points and eight assists.
Bentley got the Lady Lions on the board first with a layup in the second minute of the game, but the Gophers responded with a bucket by Katie Ohm. Gray came off of the bench to spark the Lions with back-to-back jumpers to give Penn State a 6-2 lead with 15:24 remaining in the opening half.
The teams swapped free throws on successive possessions before the Golden Gophers went on a 5-0 run to take a 7-6 lead with just over 12 minutes left. Following a Gray jumper, China Antoine drained a three-pointer to stretch Minnesota's lead to two points but the Lady Lions responded with a bucket by Wolff to even the score at 12 with 11:46 on the clock.
After an exchange of scores, Minnesota pulled out to a four-point lead (18-14) with seven minutes left in the half. The lead remained at four points for much of the rest of the half until Wolff made one of two free throw attempts and Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) converted on a layup to make it a 20-19 Minnesota lead with 3:29 on the clock. However, the Gophers ended the frame with an 8-0 run to send the teams into the locker room with Minnesota leading 28-19.
Wolff led the Lady Lions with seven points and Gray added six tallies, while Penn State's leading scorer Grant was held scoreless in the opening frame. Kiara Buford paced Minnesota with seven points in the opening half. The teams combined for more turnovers (17) than field goals (16).
Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) started Penn State off on the right foot with a jumper on the Lady Lions' first possession of the half, but the Gophers responded with four consecutive points to take a game-high 11 point lead (32-21) with 16:20 remaining. The Lady Lions got back-to-back baskets by Bentley to spark a 17-4 Penn State run to give the Lady Lions a 38-36 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining. Gray and freshman Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif.) combined for four points each before Wolff knocked down a 15-footer and Grant drained a three-pointer for her first basket of the game to give Penn State its first lead since the 12:18 mark of the first half.
The Golden Gophers responded with a three-pointer by Brittany McCoy, but Grant connected on back-to-back three-pointers the forced Minnesota coach Pam Borton to call a timeout as she sensed the momentum swinging in Penn State's direction. Grant then ignited the crowd with a scoop shot that gave Penn State a seven-point lead (46-39) with less than eight minutes to play.
McCoy knocked down a pair of free throws to slice into the Penn State lead, but Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) took a pass from Bentley and converted on a layup to push the lead back to seven with 6:43 on the clock. On the ensuing Minnesota possession, McCoy once again found herself at the free throw line, but was only able to make one of her two attempts to make it a 48-42 game. However, the Lions immediately responded with another bucket by Greene from Trogele to give Penn State it's largest lead of the game at eight points (50-42) with 5:33 left in the game. The Gophers had one last run in them as Ashley Ellis-Milan kick-started a 17-2 run to end the game and give Minnesota the 59-52 win.
GAME NOTES: Freshman Gizelle Studevent scored a career-high six points...Senior Tyra Grant has scored double figures in each of her last 36 games...Sophomore Zhaque Gray scored 10 points, marking it her fifth double figure game this season...The Lady Lions are 20-11 all-time against Minnesota, but have dropped their last six games to the Gophers.
The Lady Lions travel to Purdue on Sunday at 2 p.m., before returning home to face Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. It will be Beach Day in the Bryce Jordan Center with fans wearing a Hawaiian shirt will get in for $5. 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.