Feb. 18, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Despite losing a late lead, the Penn State Lady Lions (16-10, 8-8) came out strong in overtime, scoring the first eight points of the extra frame, on the way to a 71-65 win over Michigan (14-11, 6-9) Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lions used solid defense, holding Michigan to 28.4% from the field and forcing 18 turnovers to snap their six-game losing streak. It is the third overtime win for the Lady Lions this season, marking the first time since the 1997-98 campaign that Penn State has won three games in extra time. It is also the first time in school history that Penn State has played four overtime games in a season.
Senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) just missed out on her second career double-double with 25 points and nine rebounds. She also chipped in four assists and a pair of steals. Freshman Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) had a career night with personal bests of 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and six rebounds to go along with a blocked shot, while senior Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.
Penn State opened the scoring with a basket by Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas), but the Wolverines responded with a trio of three-pointers, two by Carmen Reynolds and one from Krista Phillips, sandwiched around a bucket by Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) to take a 9-4 lead five minutes into the game. However, the Lady Lions fought back by scoring the game's next seven points thanks to a basket by Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) and five points from Monroe, including her first career three-pointer as the shot clock expired, to give Penn State an 11-9 lead with 11 minute left in the half.
Michigan tied the game at 11 on a jumper by Reynolds. The squads swapped baskets to keep the game tied until a tip-in by Greene and a three-pointer by Grant pushed the Lions to a 20-15 lead with just over five minutes remaining. Following another three by Reynolds, Wolfe netted a 12-foot jumper and Grant knocked down her second triple of the game to establish a seven-point lead for Penn State at 25-18 with 2:25 on the clock.
The Wolverines cut into Penn State's lead with a three-pointer by Veronica Hicks and a circus shot by Dayeesha Hollins to make it a 25-23 game with 1:21 left in the half. The Lady Lions finished the half strong with four consecutive points by Monroe to send Penn State into the locker room with a 29-23 lead.
Monroe led the Lions with nine points via a 3-for-5 shooting performance, while Grant added eight tallies and two assists. Reynolds led all scorers with 11 first half markers.
Both teams came out ice cold to start the second half with Michigan missing its first eight shots with a pair of turnovers and Penn State missing its first three attempts with two turnovers. Grant broke the scoring drought with a layup to stretch Penn State's lead to eight points (31-23) with 17 minutes left in the game.
The Wolverines caught fire and took advantage of four consecutive turnovers and offensive rebounding opportunities to go on a 9-0 run to take a 32-31 lead with 14 minutes left. Hicks accounted for seven of Michigan's points during the run. The Lady Lions bounced back with a 10-2 run, including five consecutive points by Wolfe, three points by Grant and a layup by Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) to move ahead by seven (41-34) with 10 and a half minutes remaining.
After a Hick three-pointer Wolfe converted on a layup and Grant scored a bucket of her own to stretch the lead to 45-37 with 8:40 on the clock. However, Michigan scored nine of the game's next 11 points to pull within a single points at 47-46 with five minutes to play. Bentley notched back-to-back layups and Wolfe connected on a pair of free throws to push the Lady Lion lead back to seven points (53-46), but as has been the case during the losing streak, Penn State could not hold the lead and allowed Michigan to tie the game at 55-55 with 52 second remaining.
On the ensuing Lady Lion possession, Grant connected on a fadeaway jumper to give Penn State the two-point lead with 37 seconds left, but it was short lived as Hollins drained a pair of freebies with 15 seconds left to even the score. The Lions had one final chance, but neither Grant's three-pointer nor Wolfe's putback would fall and the teams headed to overtime.
Penn State came out in rejuvenated in overtime and scored the first eight points thanks to a trio of layups by Grant and a jumper by Bentley to take a 65-57 lead with 2:33 left in the game. The Wolverines had one final push left as Hollins scored four straight points to make it a 65-61 game with less than two minutes left, but the Lions clinched the win by making six-of-eight free throws in the final 41 seconds to earn the win.
GAME NOTES: The win snaps the Lady Lions' six game losing streak...With their eight Big Ten win of the season, the Lady Lions' have their most conference wins since the 2004-05 season...This was Penn State's fourth overtime game this season, marking the most OT appearances in a season in program history...The Lady Lions win three overtime games for the first time since 1997-98...Marisa Wolfe had a career night with personal bests of 13 points and six rebounds...Tyra Grant registered her 13th 20-point game of the season with 25 tallies...She is now 55 points away from 2,000 in her career...The Lady Lions picked up their eighth consecutive home win over Michigan and improve to 25-9 all-time against the Wolverines...Senior Meredith Monroe connected on the first three-pointer of her career on her second career attempt.
The Lady Lions have a bye date this weekend before hosting Wisconsin in the regular-season home finale on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night for the Lady Lions as they honor Nicole Arcidiacono, Tyra Grant, Meredith Monroe and Meggan Quinn. Fans will receive a Tyra Grant figurine while supplies last and Penn State faculty and staff can purchase tickets 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.