Jan. 12, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. RV/25 Penn State Lady Lions (12-4, 2-2) shot 55.4% from the field and earned a convincing 78-63 victory against Michigan (13-4, 2-2). Sophomore Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) posted her ninth 20-point game of the season with 22 tallies to pace the Lady Lions. She also added five assists and three steals.
Lucas has scored 55 points in her last two games with 22 tallies tonight and 33 markers against Michigan State Saturday. Senior Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) totaled 15 points with four rebounds, while junior Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 12 points, a team-best six assists and four steals.
Junior Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) hauled in a game-best nine rebounds to go along with nine points and redshirt junior Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) registered eight boards with six tallies. The Lady Lions outscored the Wolverines 36-24 in the paint, 14-11 off turnovers and 24-3 in fast break situations.
Michigan grabbed an early slim lead, 5-4, in the first three minutes of the game, but two Lucas threes sandwiched around a layup from Greene pushed Penn State on top 12-5 with 15:27 left in the first half. The Lady Lion run continued with two points each from Gray and sophomore Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) to push Penn State ahead by 11 (16-5). A layup from Michigan's Kate Thompson ended the Penn State run, but Lucas nailed a third trifecta for a 19-7 lead. After a bucket by the Wolverines, Rachel Sheffer fouled Lucas sending her to the line to shoot two. Lucas sunk both foul shots to begin a 9-2 run by the Lady Lions, which moved Penn State ahead by 17 (28-11).
The Lady Lions maintained at least a 14-point advantage until a 9-4 Michigan run closed the gap to 11 (34-23) with 4:34 left in the half. Penn State bounced back with two jumpers from Lucas to extend the lead to 15 (38-23) with 3:01 to play in the half. The teams traded baskets as the clock wound down on the first half as Penn State headed into the locker room with a 41-29 lead.
The Lions opened the second half with back-to-back baskets to make it a 16-point game (45-29). Courtney Boylan had a jumper for the Wolverines, but baskets from Gray and Bentley gave Penn State its largest lead of the game to that point (49-31). A short 5-1 Michigan run had the Wolverines trailing by 15, but two jumpers from Gray increased Penn State's lead to 19 (55-36). After a timeout, Sheffer registered a layup for UM, but a 7-2 Penn State run moved the Lady Lions ahead to a game-best 22 points (62-40).
The Lady Lions cooled off temporarily when Michigan's Nicole Emblad hit two treys, followed by another triple by Thompson to bring the Wolverines within 15 (64-49). Scoring ceased for more than two minutes as the teams combined to miss their next seven shots. Greene ended the drought for the Lady Lions with a jumper sparking an 8-2 run to make it 72-52 in favor of Penn State.
Despites five straight points from Michigan, two foul shots from Edwards and baskets from Bentley and junior Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) kept Penn State in firm control as the game hit the two-minute mark. Michigan scored the final four points of the game, but it was too little too late as the Lady Lions secure the win, 78-63.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions are now 27-9 and 14-2 at home all-time against the Wolverines ... Penn State shot 55.4% from the field, the best effort from the field for the Lions since compiling a 57.3 percentage at Nevada on Nov. 26, 2011 ... Junior forward/center Nikki Greene recorded nine rebounds, moving her past Kim Calhoun (583; 1993-96) into 22nd all-time at Penn State with 590 career boards ... Greene also totaled a career-best three assists ... Senior guard Zhaque Gray drained one three-pointer, tying her with Tina Nicholson (1993-96) for seventh place all-time at Penn State with 124 career three-point field goals ... Sophomore guard Ariel Edwards scored nine points, giving her 200 career points ... Junior forward Mia Nickson grabbed eight rebounds, surpassing the 300-rebound mark for her Penn State career (302) ... Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas tallied her ninth 20-point scoring effort of the season with 22 points ... Lucas notched her second-straight 20-point game as she posted 33 points vs. Michigan State on Jan. 7, 2012 ... Lucas scored 45 points in consecutive halves, tallying 28 in the second half vs. Michigan State on Jan. 7, 2012 and 17 in the first half vs. the Wolverines.
The Lady Lions hit the road for a pair of games at Nebraska (Jan. 15) and at Illinois (Jan. 19) before returning to the BJC to face Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 22. The Iowa game is a Subway Full Court 4-pack game and it's Kids Day where all kids that in 8th grade or younger will be admitted for FREE if they wear Lady Lion Basketball gear. Single game tickets, PNC Flex Books and Starting 5 ticket packages are available by calling 800-NITTANY. PNC Flex Books are $99 and give 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 Starting 5 Pack is $49 and features tickets to three games of the buyer's choice, a ticket for the Ohio State ESPN2 Big Monday game on Monday, Feb. 20 and a ticket for the Pink Zone game against Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 26.
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.