Feb. 28, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, IND. - The Penn State Lady Lions (16-12, 8-10) rallied valiantly from a 23-point deficit in the second half, but it was not enough as they dropped a 77-68 decision at Indiana (14-15, 7-11) Sunday. With the loss, the Lady Lions will be the #6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis from March 4-7. Penn State will face the #11 seed Minnesota on Thursday, March 4 in the second game of the day, which will begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of the noon game between the #7 and #10 seeds. The Lady Lions are 20-13 all-time in the Big Ten tourney with a pair of Championships.
Freshman guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) led Penn State with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and three assists. Senior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) chipped in 14 points, nine rebounds and a pair of assists, while classmate Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) notched her second career double-double with 12 points, 11 of which came in the second half, and 12 rebounds. Junior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) tied Monroe with a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with five points and three rebounds.
Jamie Braun started her senior day on the right foot with a bucket 21 seconds into the game, but the Lady Lions responded by scoring the game's next seven points thanks to a beautiful layup by Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) and five consecutive tallies by Bentley to make it a 7-4 Penn State lead with less than 17 minutes left in the half. However, the Lady Lions went ice cold from the field, allowing the Hoosiers to go on a 33-15 run over the next 16 and a half minutes to take a 37-22 lead into halftime.
Bentley led the Lady Lions with nine points, while Trogele added four points and a team-best six rebounds. Grant chipped in four first-half tallies to go along with four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Braun led Indiana with nine markers.
Monroe drew first blood in the second half with a layup, but the Hoosiers responded with nine of the game's next 11 points to push their lead to 20 points (42-24) with less than 18 minutes left in the game. Monroe scored five consecutive points to close within 15 tallies (46-31) with 16 minutes left.
Indiana stretched the lead again with a 15-7 run to make it a 61-38 game with 11 minutes left in the game. The Lady Lions responded with a 12-2 surge to pull within 13 points at 63-50 with 7:38 on the clock. Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) and Grant each drained a three-pointers, while Bentley added two tallies and Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) and Greene added one point piece during the run.
The Hoosiers scored four the game's next six points to move ahead by 15 markers (67-52) with six and a half minutes left. Grants jumper would kick off a 13-3 Lady Lion rally to make it a five-point game (70-65) with 1:59 on the clock. Grant accounted for five total points in the run, while Bentley added four tallies and Monroe and Gray each had two points. Unfortunately, Indiana sealed the win with six free throws in the final 1:44 of the game to earn the 77-68 win.
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.