Dec. 2, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #6/7 Penn State Lady Lions (6-1) landed five players in double figures and shot 49.3% from the field as they rolled to a 101-44 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (1-5) Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. Juniors Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) and Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.) earned their first career starts and responded with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Taylor, whose 15 points are the most for her in a Penn State uniform, was 5-for-8 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Taylor also added five assists, three rebounds and a steal. East's 11 markers are a career-high to go along with three blocks. Junior guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) paced all scorers with 24 points, including a 6-for-9 effort from three-point range, to compliment six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Junior guard/forward Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) scored all 18 of her points in the second half and pulled in seven rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Senior center Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) was the final Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds, while freshman center Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) had personal bests of eight points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
The squads found themselves tied at 5-5 less than five minutes into the game. A jumper by Taylor gave PSU a 7-5 lead, but the Knights responded with the game's next five points to take a 10-7 advantage with less than 13 minutes left in the half. However, Lucas spurred on the Lady Lions connected on back-to-back three-pointers to open a 22-1 run and give the Lions a 29-11 lead with 7:16 to play. Lucas accounted for 11 of Penn State points in the run, while Taylor added five tallies and Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.), Greene and Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif.) chipped in two points apiece.
Following a Danielle Pankey basket, Penn State scored five consecutive points on one layup from Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.), a layup by Taylor and two freebies for Lucas to take a 21-point lead (36-15) with 4:24 left. After a few exchanges, a jumper by Waldner extended the lead to 23 (40-17) with 3:36 to play in the half.
A three-pointer by Pankey cut the lead to 20, but the Lady Lions responded with a 10-1 run to end the first half and head into the break with a 50-21 lead. East contributed six points in the run.
Penn State continued to pull away as the Lady Lions opened the second half on a 9-0 run to push the lead to 57-21 with 16:39 to play. Following a score by the Knights, Agee made a layup and Lucas hit another three-pointer to extend the lead to 41 (64-23) with 14:34 to play. The Lions would cruise the rest of the way as the Knights would not get closer than 41 the rest of the way.
GAME NOTES: Juniors Dara Taylor and Talia East made their first career starts as a Lady Lion ... With 24 points, Maggie Lucas passes Penn State assistant coach Maren Walseth for 16th place on Penn State's career scoring list. Lucas has 1,344 points in just over three seasons ... Lucas knocked down six three-pointers to become the first Lion with six triples since she had seven against Michigan State on Jan. 7, 2012 ... The 20+ point game for Lucas was her fifth this season and 36th of her career ... Taylor finished with 15 points, the best total of her Penn State career and just two points off of her career high of 17 points set against Clemson while at Maryland ... With two blocks on the game, Nikki Greene moved into a tie for third place on Penn State's all-time blocks list (189) with Rashana Barnes (1999-02) ... East had a career-high 11 points, surpassing her previous career mark of nine against Indiana (2/2/12) ... Freshman Candice Agee had career highs of eight points and nine rebounds ... Penn State extends its non-conference home court winning streak to 10 games, the fifth-longest streak in school history ... Penn State surpassed the 100-point plateau for the first time since scoring 103 tallies against Wagner last season (12/18/11) ... It is the 47th time in program history that the Lions have scored 100 or more points.
Penn State will then hit the road to face #2 UConn on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on SNY. The Lady Lions return home to face Georgetown on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 12 p.m. for the annual Toys for Tots game. Sunday is also Girls Scouts Day and a Subway Full Court 4-Pack game. Go to www.GoPSUsports.com/promotions/wbb.html for complete promotions information.
Single game tickets for the Lady Lions are on sale now. Tickets are $15 and $12 for adults and seniors and $9 and $7 for youth (12 and younger). Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are still available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Season tickets are $99 for adults and $50 for youth (12 and under), this includes a Nittany Lion Kids Club Membership for 2012-13. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions' Pink Zone game.
The 2013 Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 24 as the Lady Lions take on Michigan in the Bryce Jordan Center. Last year, the Lady Lions donated a record $203,000 to 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.pennsylvaniapinkzone.org.
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.