Jan. 25, 2013
By Mike Esse, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It wasn't pretty from a statistical standpoint, but after No. 8 Penn State's (16-2, 6-0) 64-59 win over upset minded Minnesota (13-7, 2-4), Coquese Washington acknowledged the effort that her players showed, especially down the stretch.
With a little more than eight minutes to go in the second half the Lady Lions found themselves trailing by two at home to a team that they now have more conference wins in this week alone than Minnesota does all season.
Senior center Nikki Greene was struggling in the scoring column with three points, all from the charity stripe, and it had been almost ten minutes since senior guard Alex Bentley connected from the field.
Minnesota was testing Penn State's patience; moreover, testing their confidence and the Lady Lions didn't flinch. Whether it was one of Maggie Lucas' 26 points or Dara Taylor's three steals, it all came together at the end of the game.
"We have a lot of different people who are capable of stepping up and making plays, which is certainly something we like happening," said Washington. "We certainly don't have to rely on one person."
Greene hit her first shot from the field with 7:54 to go in the second half followed by two strong defensive possessions from her teammates and all of the sudden they Lady Lions looked like the Lady Lions again.
Even when Minnesota hit a few key shots down the stretch to get the lead within one point on four different occasions, Penn State answered. Whether it was a steal on the defensive end or hitting free throws, they were able to come through when it mattered most.
"We had a bunch of different people make key plays down the stretch," said Washington. "Maggie made free throws. Alex made a huge jump shot. Nikki made the big shots. Dara gets a steal on defense. Ariel in the late second half made a huge drive to get the and one."
Washington's squad created turnovers, forced Minnesota to take tough shots and was able to get out in transition and, maybe most importantly, converted from the free throw line. Over the last nine minutes Penn State went five of six from the stripe, which turned out to be the difference maker in a game they won by that same number.
Lucas, Greene, and Bentley led the way for Penn State down the stretch scoring the team's final 16 points. In the game, Lucas tallied 26, Bentley added 12 and Greene finished with nine points. Six of Greene's nine points came in the last eight minutes of the game where she saw her scoring ability change drastically compared to the first 32 minutes.
"I believe I was more patient with the ball," said Greene. "(Coquese) kind of emphasized that every time we went into timeouts that they were going to double team me and so I tried to look for a shot every opportunity I got if I wasn't double teamed."
Greene also collected 13 rebounds including a game high eight on the defensive side of the ball. With the help of Tori Waldner and Talia East the Lady Lions continued to have an effective down low presence in Big Ten play.
Throughout the course of the season Washington has been able to call upon players like Waldner and East, as well as senior guard Gizelle Studevent, at any time in the game no matter how many minutes they may see on the floor.
"Those guys do a lot of things that maybe do not show up in the stat sheet, necessarily," said Washington. "Whether it is talking or communicating, being in the right side of help side, they just do a lot of stuff that necessarily does not show up, but I have a lot of confidence in them to be a big factor and to have an impact."
The Lady Lions will try to build on the strong finish against Minnesota and translate the intensity on the road in Columbus on Sunday against Ohio State (11-8, 1-5).
--NITTANY LIONS--