Dec. 19, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (10-2) shook off the rust from a week-long break for exams with a solid second half effort en route to a 64-55 win over Delaware (6-2) Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. Freshman Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) drained two key three-pointers in the final 4:09 to lead the Lions. She finished the game with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. She also pulled in four rebounds and had two steals.
Sophomore guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored 10 of her 13 points after the break. She also added six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Sophomore center Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) added 11 points and five rebounds, while senior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) chipped in seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) continued her solid play for the Lady Lions with eight points and six rebounds.
The Lady Lions scored first on a layup by Nickson in the first minute, but the Blue Hens immediately responded with a three-pointer by Elena Delle Donne. Penn State would get back on top with a 5-0 spurt that included baskets by Greene and Trogele and one free throw by Bentley to take a 7-3 lead with 16 minutes left in the half.
Delaware would score 12 of the game's next 17 points to take a three-point lead at 15-12 with 9:37 remaining in the half. However, back-to-back three-pointers by Lucas pushed the Lady Lions ahead by an 18-15 count with 6:27 left. The Blue Hens would score four of the game's next five points to even the score at 19-19 with 4:39 on the clock. Following a layup by Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.), Delaware got back-to-back buckets to take a two-point lead (23-21). Trogele put the Lions ahead again with a three-pointer at the 2:16 mark, but the Blue Hens closed the scoring in the half with a layup by Jaquetta May with 1:40 left to send Delaware into the break with a 25-24 lead.
Lucas led Penn State with six points and three rebounds, with Trogele added five tallies, 10 rebounds and two assists. Greene also added five points and three boards for the Lions. Delle Donne led all scorers with eight points. Neither team shot exceptionally well from the field in the opening half with Penn State going 9-for-29 (31%) and Delaware making 9-of-31 shots (29%).
Penn State came out strong in the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points with six of those points going to Greene with buckets in the paint and a pair of free throws. The spurt gave the Lady Lions a 32-27 lead with 17 minutes left in the game. Following back-to-back scores by the Blue Hens to get Delaware within one point (32-31), Penn State clicked off an 8-0 run, led by six points from Bentley to push the lead to a game-high nine points at 40-31 with less than 14 minutes remaining in the game.
The Blue Hens scored four consecutive points to get within five, but Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) went on a personal 4-0 run to push the lead back to nine (44-35) with 11:26 to play. After a bucket by Delle Donne, Gray and Lucas teamed up for back-to-back scores to push the lead to 11 at 48-37 with less than 11 minutes remaining. The Blue Hens reeled off a 13-4 run to get within a possession at 52-50 with 6:33 left. Following a pair of Nickson free throws, Lucas nailed consecutive three-pointers to extend the lead back to double-digits at 60-50 with four minutes remaining.
After Eva Riddick split a pair of free throw attempts, Bentley knocked down a jumper and Nickson hit a 12-footer to give Penn State a 64-51 lead with less than two minutes left in the game. On the ensuing possession after Nickson's bucket, Delle Donne hit a three-pointer and was fouled by Lucas for the rare four-point play to make it a nine-point margin with 43 seconds left. Following a miss by Lucas, the Lions ran out the clock with an offensive rebound by Bentley to secure the win.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions are 6-1 all-time against Delaware ... Penn State has won six consecutive home games and four in a row overall ... With four three-pointers, Maggie Lucas moved into a tie for fourth place on Penn State's freshman season three-pointers list with 39 treys. Tyra Grant also had 39 three-pointers her rookie season (2006-07) ... Lucas surpassed the 200-point mark for her career (203) ... Penn State's 10 non-conference wins are the most since the 2002-03 season.
The Lady Lions are back in action at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tues., Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m., against Drexel. The game is part of a men's and women's doubleheader with the Nittany Lions taking on Maine at 5 p.m. Following a break for the holidays, the Lady Lions will face Bucknell at the BJC on Tues., Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., before hosting Iowa on Thurs., Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. in their Big Ten opener. 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.