Feb. 3, 2011
ANN ARBOR, MICH. - The Penn State Lady Lions (19-5, 8-2) used another balanced scoring attack and a solid defensive effort to claim an 81-63 win at Michigan (13-9, 6-4) Thursday night to earn their 19th win of the season. The 19 wins are the most by a Penn State squad since the 2004-05 team had 19 wins. The Lady Lions also picked up their eighth Big Ten win of the year, which equals their total from last season.
Freshman guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) led five Lady Lions in double figures with 23 points to go along with four rebounds and a steal. Sophomore guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) tallied 11 points to go along with three rebounds and four assists, while junior Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 11 points and four assists.
Sophomore center Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) narrowly missed her third straight double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. She also added a pair of blocked shots in the win. Senior guard Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) had a solid all-around night with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. She surpassed the 700-point and 600-rebound mark for her career Thursday night.
Courtney Boylan put Michigan on the board first with a three-pointer in the opening 20 seconds of the game, but the Lady Lions responded by scoring the game's next six points to take a 6-3 lead with 16:24 left in the opening half. Greene had four points in the Lady Lion spurt. The Wolverines scored six of the game's next nine points to tie the game at 9-9 with just over 14 minutes remaining.
When Lucas entered the game, she kicked off an 11-2 run with a pull up jumper. The run, which included seven points by Lucas, gave the Lady Lions a 20-11 lead with less than 10 minutes to play. However, Michigan would score eight of the next 10 points to pull within a possession (22-19), which prompted head coach Coquese Washington to call a timeout with 5:26 left in the frame. The Lady Lions responded, reeling seven straight points thanks to four tallies from Greene and a three-pointer by Gray to take a 29-19 lead with less than four minutes remaining.
After a bucket by the Wolverines, Lucas hit her second three-pointer of the game and Trogele scored her first points of the evening to make it a 34-21 lead with 2:24 on the clock. The Wolverines scored four consecutive tallies, but Lucas closed out the scoring in the half with a jumper to send Penn State into the break with a 36-25 lead.
Lucas led all players with 14 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Greene added eight point and seven rebounds in the opening frame, while Gray chipped in six points and two assists. The Lady Lions dominated on the boards, outrebounding Michigan by a 26-12 margin in the first half. Rachel Sheffer had nine points to lead the Wolverines.
The Lady Lions scored five of the first seven points of the second half to push their lead to 14 points, but Michigan went on an 8-2 run to close within eight (43-35) less than three minutes into the second half. Penn State used a layup by Greene, a three-pointer by Gray and a steal and layup by Trogele to push its lead to 15 (50-35) with just over 15 minutes left.
After back-to-back scores by Michigan, the Lady Lions scored six consecutive points thanks to a rebound and jumper by Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.), a jumper by Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) and a layup by Greene to establish a 56-39 lead with 9:20 on the clock. The squads exchanged scores to keep the margin at 17 until back-to-back three-pointers by the Wolverines cut the Penn State lead to 11 at 61-50 just under seven minutes left.
The Lady Lions responded with a 6-0 run that saw Trogele, Lucas and Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.) to extend the lead to 17 points (67-50) with five minutes left. The Penn State defense stood strong and Michigan would get no closer than 16 points down the stretch as the Lady Lions picked up their 19th win of the year.
GAME NOTES: Senior guard Julia Trogele surpassed the 700-point mark for her career with 10 points. She now has 702 tallies in her career, becoming the 47th player in school history to reach the milestone ... Trogele also reached the 600-rebound plateau with eight boards to bring her career total to 603 ... The Lady Lions' 19 wins are the most since the 2004-05 squad had 19 victories ... Penn State equals its Big Ten win total from a year ago with their eighth victory.
The Lady Lions continued their road swing at Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 6. Penn State is back in the Bryce Jordan Center to meet Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. PNC Bank customers can buy a ticket to the game for just $5. 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.