Dec. 18, 2011
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Behind 57 points in the first half, the #16/17 Penn State Lady Lions (9-2, 0-0 Big Ten) earned a 103-42 win against Wagner (2-8, 1-1 NEC) Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. Four Lady Lions posted double-digit points to give Penn State an undefeated home non-conference record for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
Junior guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) and sophomore Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) led the Lady Lions with 23 points apiece. Bentley also added five steals and two assists, while Lucas chipped in four rebounds and a steal. Senior Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) posted 13 points with three helpers and sophomore Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) rounded out Penn State's top scorers with 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
Freshman Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) posted a career-high 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, while junior Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) had a season-high nine points and tied her personal-best with seven boards. Junior Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) had a solid all-around outing with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Despite Wagner opened the game by scoring seven of the first nine points to take a 7-2 lead by the 17:46 mark, Penn State took control by scoring the next 11 tallies for a 13-7 advantage. Kelly Clark temporarily cut off the Lady Lion run with a free throw, but Lucas nailed a jumper with 15 minutes to spark a 12-0 run giving Penn State a 17 point lead (25-8) with 12:34 left in the opening half.
Clark again cut off the run by making two free throws to pull the Seahawks within 15 (25-10). PSU then embarked on a 31-9 scoring run to close out the first half to take a commanding 57-19 lead. Seven Lady Lions contributed to the scoring run with Gray leading the team with 11 points during the spurt.
Penn State continued to roll in the second half, scoring the first seven points of the frame to increase the gap to 64-19. Veronick Fornier had a layup for Wagner, but Clark fouled Lucas who put in two free throws to move Penn State back ahead by 45, 66-21. An 8-2 Lady Lion run gave Penn State its largest lead of the game to that point (77-26). However, a Marie Archambault trifecta for the Seahawks and a Brittney Thorpe layup closed the gap to 48 (49-31).
With less than 10 minutes to play, PSU had an 82-33 lead. Edwards tallied two points off a trip to the foul line to push the Lions back ahead by 51, 84-33. Penn State's dominance continued with a 10-0 run moving the Lady Lions ahead, 94-35. Archambault once again found the basket for three for the Seahawks at the 5:40 mark, but Greene made the first half of a two-shot trip to the line before layups from Edwards and East propelled Penn State to triple-digits, 100-38. Waldner scored on a free throw and Gray put up a layup to secure a 103-42 victory for the Lady Lions.
GAME NOTES: All nine of Penn State's active players scored at least two points, making the third consecutive game in which that has happened ... Penn State eclipsed the 100-point mark for the third time this season, scoring 103 points against North Carolina (11/30) and Nevada (11/26) ... The 61-point win for the Lady Lions is their largest margin of victory since beating Rider by 74 points (95-21) on Nov. 10, 2010 ... The Lady Lions' 38-point lead at the half is their largest margin at halftime this season ... As a team, the Lady Lions recorded nine blocks, which ties their season-high, also hitting that mark against South Carolina on Nov. 20 ... With a 13-point performance, Zhaque Gray passed the 700-point plateau for her career (702 pts.) ... Gray's three-pointer she made today moved her up into a tie for ninth-place on Penn State's all-time three pointers made list ... Maggie Lucas netted her third-straight 20-point game and her fifth in the last six games with 23 tallies ... Alex Bentley also notched a 20-point game with 23 markers, it is her fourth 20-point game of the season ... The last time Penn State had two players score 20 or more points came at Nevada on Nov. 26 when Gray and Lucas surpassed the mark ... Talia East tied her career-high of eight points ... Bentley tied her career-high in steals with five ... Ariel Edwards tied her career-high in assists with three ... Gizelle Studevent set her career-high in assists with four, surpassing her previous mark of three at Nevada on Nov. 26 earlier this year ... Marisa Wolfe tied her career-high for rebounds with seven to go along with a season-high nine points ...Tori Waldner grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds ... In addition, she made a career-best three free-throws.
The Lady Lions travel to Bucknell to meet the Bison in their non-conference finale Wednesday. Penn State returns to the BJC to face Big Ten newcomer Nebraska on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. That game will be a Subway Full Court 4-Pack where fans can get four tickets, a voucher for four Subway subs and four sodas for $40. Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are available by calling 814-867-2557. Season tickets are $117 for adults, $52 for youth and $91 for seniors. Single game tickets go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 11. 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 2012 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 as the Lady Lions take on Minnesota in the Bryce Jordan Center. Last year, the Lady Lions donated nearly $200,000 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, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and Lewistown 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.