Feb. 2, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. 19/21 Penn State Lady Lions (17-5, 7-3) secured a convincing 76-44 victory against Indiana (5-18, 0-10) Thursday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center. Three Lady Lions posted double-digit points, lead by sophomore guard Maggie Lucas' (Narberth, Pa.) 24 points for her 13th 20-point performance of the season. Penn State is now 5-0 on the season after a loss, topping its opponents by an average of 26.6 points per game.
Lucas was 4-for-7 from deep and is now just eight points shy of becoming just the third sophomore in Penn State history to reach 1,000 career points and 34th player overall. Lucas also added two rebounds, two steals and tied her career high with a pair of blocks. Junior Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) was 7-for-12 from the field to finish with 17 points and six rebounds, while junior Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif.) tied her career-high with 10 after hitting five of her six shot attempts.
Sophomore Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.) had a career night with a personal best nine points to go along with nine rebounds and two steals. Freshman Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) turned in a solid all-around performance with two points, five rebounds and a career-high four assists, while sophomore Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) chipped in eight tallies. No Penn State player played more than 29 minutes in the game.
Less than 10 second into the game, Penn State was making its first trip to the foul line where Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) gave Penn State an early 2-0 lead. Indiana tied it up with a jumper, before Greene scored two points to move the Lady Lions back in the lead, 4-2. Andrea Newbauer scored for the Hoosiers to tie it up a second time before the Hoosiers too a slim 5-4 lead two minutes into the game.
Indiana's lead was short-lived as five straight points by Lucas had the Lady Lions with a 9-5 advantage. Lucas' five points were part of a 13-0 Penn State run that put the Lady Lions firmly in control with a 17-5 lead with 14:12 to play. Three straight Hoosier baskets cut Penn State's lead to six (17-11) with 9:27 on the clock. Danilsa Andujar fouled Greene, who made the first of two free throw shots, but Indiana capitalized on the miss for another two points to be within five (18-13) with five minutes left in the half.
A Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) free throw sparked a 13-2 Lady Lion run, including two treys from Lucas for a 31-15 lead. A jumper from Indiana's Jasmine McGhee ended Penn State's run. However, two Penn State baskets sandwiching a jumper by Aulani Sinclair kept Penn State on top by 16 (35-19). With less than a minute left in the half, the Hoosiers managed two final baskets. The Lady Lions went on to end the half with a 19-point lead (42-23) after a layup and free throw from Greene and two points from Lucas.
Indiana opened the second half with a 6-2 run to cut Penn State's lead to 15 (44-29), but that is as close as the Hoosiers would get as the Lady Lions responded with a 15-1 run for a 29-point lead (59-30) with 12:45 left on the clock. The teams went back and forth briefly with Penn State's lead hovering around 30 points. At the 7:49 mark, a layup by East began a 9-0 run by the Lady Lions to give Penn State a 37-point cushion (74-37).
During the last five minutes of play, Indiana managed seven points to Penn State's two, a basket by Studevent. It was too little too late for the Hoosiers as Penn State held the ball for the final seconds for a convincing 76-44 victory.
GAME NOTES: Maggie Lucas tallied her 13th 20-point game of the season with 24 points on an 8-of-18 effort from the field ... Lucas needs eight points to become the third sophomore and 34th player overall in Penn State history to reach 1,000 points ... The Lady Lions are 5-0 in games after a loss this season, beating its opponents by an average of 26.6 points per game ... Talia East had a career-high nine points, surpassing her previous personal mark of eight points, set twice this season ... Junior guard Gizelle Studevent tied her career high for with 10 markers on 5-of-6 shooting ... The last time the Lady Lions held a Big Ten opponent to less than 44 points was a 54-43 win at Wisconsin on Jan. 21, 2010 ... With five points, Alex Bentley moved into 24th place on Penn State's career scoring list (1,187), passing Bethany Collins (1985-88). The Lady Lions hit the road again for a Super Bowl Sunday matchup at Minnesota before returning the BJC to face Wisconsin on Thursday, Feb. 9. The Wisconsin game is a Dollar Dog Night at 7 p.m. Single game tickets and PNC Flex Books 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, which 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 at 2 p.m. 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.
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