Feb. 6, 2011
IOWA CITY, IOWA - Penn State (20-5, 9-2) saw all nine players in the game score as the Lady Lions topped #20/22 Iowa (17-7, 5-6), 82-75, in front of a raucous crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday afternoon. The win gives Penn State its first 20-win season since the 2003-04 campaign and is the 800th in program history, making the Lady Lions one of 13 teams to accomplish the feat.
Sophomore Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) was stellar today, going 11-for-17 from the field en route to a game-high 25 points. She also accounted for five assists and three rebounds. Freshman guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) connected on four three-pointers and finished with 18 points and three rebounds. Lucas passes Corinne Gulas (411) and Suzie McConnell (415) to move into fourth place on Penn State's freshman season scoring list. Sophomore Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) earned her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points, including six free throws in the final 45 seconds, and 15 rebounds with seven coming on the offensive glass. Senior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) accounted for seven points and nine rebounds for another all-around performance.
Bentley put the Lady Lions on the board first with a pull-up jumper off of the opening tip-off, but Kelly Krei responded with a three-pointer for the Hawkeyes on the ensuing possession to give Iowa the lead after the first minute of play. Trogele put the Lions back on top with a turnaround jumper, but the Hawkeyes scored seven of the next nine points to take a 10-6 advantage four minutes into the game.
After an exchange of scores, the Lady Lions went on a 15-3 run that featured five points from Lucas and Bentley to take a 23-15 lead with 10 minutes left to play in the opening half. The lead remained six for six minutes until Bentley started a 9-1 run to close the half for the Lady Lions. Lucas chipped in five points in the run and Bentley accounted for the other four as Penn State took a 44-32 lead into the break.
Bentley led all scorers with 15 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with three assists. Lucas added 10 points, two rebounds and a steal, while Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) added eight points. Nickson had 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass in the first half. Kamille Wahlin paced the Hawkeyes with 13 points, including three three-pointers.
The Hawkeyes came out firing to start the second half with a 7-2 run to close within seven (46-39) less than three minutes into the half, prompting head coach Coquese Washington to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Lady Lions missed on their first attempt, but corralled the rebound in a scramble to find Lucas for a three-pointer to stretch the lead to double digits (49-39).
The Penn State lead held steady until an 8-2 run by the Hawkeyes closed the gap to three points (54-51) with 13:30 to play. The Lady Lions responded with a 10-0 run that included four points from Nickson and a three-pointer from Lucas to make it a 13-points advantage (64-51) with 8:24 left in the game. Iowa was not done as it went on an 11-2 run to close within four points (66-62) with four and a half minutes to play.
Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) connected on a 10-footer and Bentley drove coast-to-coast for the layup and a 70-62 Penn State lead with 2:41 left. The Hawkeyes scored six of the game's next eight points to close within four (72-68), but four consecutive tallies from the free throw line gave Penn State an eight point lead (76-68) with 34 seconds left.
A three-pointer by Wahlin made it a two-possession game, but the Lady Lions sealed the win by making all 10 of their free throws in the final 45 seconds, including six by Nickson.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions earn their first 20-win season since the 2003-04 season ... This is PSU's 23rd 20-win season overall ... Penn State also picked up the 800th win in program history, becoming the 13th team in NCAA Division I history to accomplish the feat ... The Lady Lions surpass their Big Ten win total from a year ago with their ninth conference win ... It is the most Big Ten wins for Penn State since 2004-05 (13 wins) ... Maggie Lucas passed Corinne Gulas (411) and Suzie McConnell (415) on the Penn State freshman scoring list with 418 tallies ... Mia Nickson posted her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
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.