Nov. 18, 2010
ROCHESTER, MICH. - The Penn State Lady Lions (3-0) erased a 14-point first half deficit with a Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) reverse layup with eight seconds remaining in regulation and controlled overtime for a 96-89 win at Oakland (1-2) Thursday night. The Lady Lions, who move to 3-0 for the fifth consecutive season, landed seven players in double figures, led by junior Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) and freshman Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) with 16 points each.
Gray added three rebounds and two assists, while Edwards also chipped in three rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) tallied 15 points, six assists and four steals in 38 minutes of action and Lucas accounted for 13 points, three rebounds and three assists off of the bench.
Senior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) posted her fifth career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Sophomores Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) and Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif.) both added 10 points each. It was a career high for Studevent, passing her previous high of seven points against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Lady Lions started the game with a concentration on the post game, but had a tough go of it in the beginning making only three of their first 11 shots, which were all in the paint. The poor shooting led to the Golden Grizzlies taking an 11-10 lead with 14:06 remaining in the opening period. Following a layup by Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.), Oakland went on a 12-0 run to take a 23-12 lead with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
Bentley knocked down a jumper and Trogele took a feed from Lucas to cut the Oakland lead to seven points (23-16) with 8:18 left. The Golden Grizzlies responded with a 7-2 run to push their lead to 29-18 with 6:31 remaining. Four consecutive Penn State free throws by Trogele and Studevent brought the deficit back to eight points (30-22), but back-to-back three-pointers by Brittany Nelson extended the lead back to 36-22. The Lady Lions scored seven of the game's next 11 points, led by five tallies from Studevent to make it a 40-29 score, but Oakland sandwiched a pair of buckets around a Studevent three to head into the locker room with a 12-point lead (44-32).
Studevent led the Lions with a career-high 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting, while Bentley chipped in six points. Sharisa Calhoun led all scorers with 14 first-half points for Oakland. Penn State shot just 34.3% in the first frame.
Penn State came out strong in the second half with a three-pointer by Gray on its opening possession. Following an Oakland turnover, Edwards made her first career three-pointer to cut the deficit in half (44-38) in the first 45 seconds of the second frame. On the ensuing Oakland possession, Bentley nabbed a steal and took it the length of the floor for the layup to make it a 44-40 game with 18:30 left in the game.
Oakland's Calhoun drained a pair of free throws to push the lead back to six, but Edwards brought it back to a four-point deficit with a steal and layup at the 17:17 mark. Calhoun responded with two more free throws, but Nickson converted on a layup and Trogele drained a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game at 48-46 with less than 15 minutes remaining. The squads exchanged scores for the next several minutes until Oakland went on a 13-2 run to take a 12-point lead (68-56) with less than 10 minutes to play.
The Lady Lions responded a pair of Gray three-pointers sandwiched around a Nickson layup to make it a 68-64 game with eight minutes on the clock. After several exchanges and with the Golden Grizzlies leading by three (74-71), Oakland clicked off a 9-0 run to establish a 12-point lead (83-71) with less than four minutes remaining.
Penn State scored five of the game's next six points on a pair of Trogele free throws and a three-pointer by Bentley to make it an 84-76 game with 3:18 left. After a layup by Zakiya Minifee, Lucas drained a pair of three pointers and Edwards made one of two free throws to cut it to a one-possession game (86-83) with 1:14 on the clock. The Lady Lions were forced to foul and Oakland's Bethany Watterworth made one of two shots from the free throw line to extend the Grizzly lead to four points. Guarded heavily at the three-point line, Bentley drove the lane and converted to slice the lead in half with 24 seconds left.
Following an unsuccessful Penn State possession, Bentley tied up the Oakland player to force a jump ball, but the possession arrow went to the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland once again tried to inbound the ball, but Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.) tied Oakland up again with 14.9 seconds remaining and the Lions regained possession. Lucas received the ball on the inbounds and drove the lane for a reverse layup with eight seconds remaining and the 87-87 tie. The Grizzlies had one final chance to win the game, but their attempt was wide.
After nearly two scoreless minutes in overtime, Edwards grabbed an offensive rebound and converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Lady Lions their first lead of the game since 2-0 at the 19:26 mark. Calhoun scored for the Grizzlies with 1:44 left to make it a one-point game (90-89), but Penn State solidified the win with a pair of rebounds and putbacks by Trogele and Nickson, as well as a pair of free throws by Edwards.
GAME NOTES: Sophomore Gizelle Studevent had a career-high 10 points to surpass her previous mark of seven points against Iowa in last year's Big Ten Tournament ... Freshman Ariel Edwards registered a career-best 16 points, including making her first career shots from the field ... Senior Julia Trogele posted her fifth career double-double with 10 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Trogele's previous career high was 13 versus Coppin State in Malibu on Nov. 29, 2008 ... Lady Lions improve to 3-0 for the fifth consecutive season ... Penn State had seven players in double figures.
The Lady Lions return home to face South Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3:30 p.m. The Gamecocks game will be Penn State Faculty/Staff Day and Facebook "Like It" Day. Any Penn State faculty or staff member will receive $5 tickets for their families, while fans who "like" the official Lady Lion Basketball Facebook page can print off a ticket voucher for one FREE ticket and present it at the ticket office. 2010-11 Lady Lion Basketball Single-game tickets are available by calling 814-863-1000 or 800-NITTANY. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, including one for the Coaches vs. Cancer game and one for the Pink Zone game, that can be redeemed for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets in any combination.
The 2011 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 27 at noon as the Lady Lions take on Northwestern in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Last year, the Lady Lions donated more than $80,000 for breast cancer causes. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone. The WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pinkzoneatpennstate.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.