Jan. 20, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - A furious second half rally was not enough for the Penn State Lady Lions (15-5, 4-2), who struggled with turnovers for most game, Purdue (13-6, 4-3) on the way to a 79-69 loss in West Lafayette Thursday night. Sophomore guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) paced four Lady Lions in double figures with 14 points.
Bentley also added five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Freshman guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) was 4-for-6 from the field en route to 13 points and a pair of steals, while senior guard/forward Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) accounted for 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 12 points and sophomore center Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) accounted for eight points, a game-best 11 rebounds and two blocks. Greene becomes just the seventh player in school history to surpass the 100-block mark for her career.
The squads exchanged scores for the first four-plus minutes until back-to-back baskets by Greene and Trogele gave Penn State its first lead of the game at 10-9 with less than 15 minutes left in the opening half. The Boilermakers responded with a 19-6 run to take a 28-16 lead with six minutes remaining. Bentley and Gray scored on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to eight (28-20), but Purdue finished the half with a 14-4 run to take a 42-24 lead at the break.
Trogele had a team-high six points in the opening frame, while Greene accounted for four points and seven rebounds. Bentley and Gray also scored four tallies each in the first half. Antoinette Howard led all scorers with nine first-half points.
The Boilermakers continued their solid play by scoring seven of the first nine points in the second half to extend the lead to 49-26 with 18 minutes left.
Five quick points by Lucas cut the Penn State deficit to 50-31 with 16:15 on the clock. After an exchange of scores made it a 20-point Purdue advantage (53-33), but the Lady Lions continued to fight as they clicked off a 15-2 run highlighted by a pair of threes from Lucas and five points by Bentley to make it a 55-48 game with just under 11 minutes remaining. The squads swapped scores on consecutive possessions before the Boilermakers scored four-straight points to extend their lead back to 61-50 with 9:31 left in the game.
Gray scored five consecutive points to pull the Lady Lions within six (61-55) with 8:41 on the clock. Following an exchange of scores, Brittany Rayburn made a pair of free throws and Courtney Moses hit a bank-shot three-pointer as the shot clock expired to extend the Purdue lead back to 12 points (69-57) with less than five minutes to play.
A layup and two free throws by Trogele cut the lead to eight points (69-61), but the Boilermakers pushed the lead back to 18 with 10 consecutive tallies. Bentley scored five straight points and Gray closed out the scoring with a three-pointer with 19 seconds left.
GAME NOTES: Sophomore center Nikki Greene became the seventh player in school history to accumulate 100 career blocks ... With eight points, Greene moved past the 400-point mark for her career ... Freshman Maggie Lucas is now sixth on Penn State's single-season three-pointers list with 69 treys ... The Lady Lions have not won in West Lafayette since the 2003-04 season ... Penn State is now 14-24 all-time against the Boilermakers.
The Lady Lions are back at home to host Indiana on Sunday, Jan. 23. It's Kids Day at the Bryce Jordan Center, as well as another Subway Full Court 4-Pack game where fans can get four tickets, four sodas and a voucher for four 6" Subway subs for $40. 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.