Nov. 7, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions showed off their new-look balanced scoring attack with five players in doubles figures on the way to a 91-58 win over Gannon, which is #15 in the preseason Division II Coaches Poll, in exhibition play Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lions scored 33 points off of 28 Golden Knight turnovers and shot 54.5% (36-66) from the field in the victory. Penn State opens the regular season at Dayton on Friday.
Sophomore Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) and red-shirt sophomore Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) accounted for 18 points each off of the bench. Bentley, who was 9-for-13 from the field, also dished out seven assists and had a pair of steals, while Nickson pulled in four rebounds, including three on the offensive glass. Junior Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) knocked down all four of her three-point attempts en route to 14 points, while freshman Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) added 14 tallies and four steals. Senior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.
The Lady Lions were sluggish early and Gannon had the hot hand as the Golden Knights shot better than 60% en route to establishing a three-point lead (14-11) with less than 13 minutes left in the first half. However, Penn State found its rhythm going on a 17-3 run to take a 28-17 lead with 5:11 remaining. During the run, Lucas accounted for seven points, while Bentley added six tallies.
Following an exchange of three-pointers, Amanda Dacek scored to cut the lead to nine points, but the Lions answered back with an old-fashioned three-point play by Nickson that started a 9-0 run. The run continued as Bentley netted a jumper off of an assist by Trogele and the pair hooked up again with Bentley finding Trogele on the next possession. Nickson capped the run with a jumper from eight feet to make it a 40-22 game with 2:34 remaining in the opening frame. The squads exchanged scores down the stretch and the Lady Lions went into the locker room with a 44-28 lead.
Gray paced Penn State in the opening frame with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, while Bentley added eight points and four assists. The Lions shot 53.3% (16-30) from the field in the first half.
The Lions added to their lead with a three-pointer from Gray, but the Golden Knights bounced back with a bucket from Julie Kleber. Sophomore Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) took a pass from Bentley and drained a jumper in the lane to start a 10-1 run to establish a 26-point lead (57-31) with 15:11 left in the game.
After a three-pointer by Kleber, Penn State scored eight of the game's next 10 points thanks to six points from Nickson and two tallies from Bentley to make it a 65-36 lead with 12:29 left in the game. The Knights converted on a layup, but the Lions responded with back-to-back baskets by Bentley and Trogele and a pair of free throws from Lucas to extend the lead to 71-38 with less than 10 minutes to play. The teams swapped scoring chances and runs for the final nine minutes to give the Lions a 33-point win (91-58).
The Lady Lions open the regular season on the road at Dayton on Fri., Nov. 12 before returning home to face Rider in their home opener on Sun., Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. 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.