Feb. 5, 2013
By Mike Esse, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It took a full team effort Monday night for No. 8 Penn State (18-3, 8-1) to beat No. 13 Purdue (18-4, 7-2) at home for the first time in five tries and reclaim sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
Maggie Lucas didn't have a mind-blowing night from beyond the arc and Alex Bentley didn't over power the Boilermakers offensively for a full 40 minutes, but they didn't necessarily need to, either.
It was a back and forth game all the way through and it was the defensive capabilities of Lucas, Bentley, Nikki Greene and company, as well as a little help on the offensive end of the floor from Talia East, that got it done against what has become one of Penn State's toughest conference foes.
Bentley finished the night with 11 points on 6-for-15 shooting. Similarly, Lucas had 17 points but connected on just one of her six three point attempts. When it mattered most, however, both players came through in the clutch.
With 2:49 to go in the second half, Lucas corralled a defensive rebound off of an April Wilson missed three point attempt and brought it into transition, stopped on a dime at the free throw line and connected on a 15 footer to stretch the Penn State lead to eight.
Then, after Courtney Moses hit three free throws to get Purdue within five, Alex Bentley came through with a bucket on a poor shooting night with under a minute remaining, sealing the deal for the Lady Lions.
Head coach Coquese Washington saw her two leading scorers seal the deal offensively, but on a night where they didn't shoot particularly well, it was the defensive efforts of Lucas and Bentley that impressed the head coach.
"[Alex and Maggie] are not keyed in on doing all of the glamour stuff or being on the highlight reel," said Washington. "Maggie had six rebounds and Alex locked in defensively late in the game to secure the win. They're winners and competitors and they're going to do whatever it takes for us to be successful."
Bentley was a major disruption on the defensive end and was a big reason why the Boilermakers turned the ball over 19 times on the night, including four times in the last 2:19.
Five of Lucas's six rebounds came on the defensive side of the floor for the Lady Lions, where she and East combined for 11 defensive boards.
East was two points short of her career high in points with nine and tied her season high in rebounds with six, all of that coming in just 12 minutes of play.
"I think I got a couple put backs, which was nice," said East. "Then they fouled a lot in the post, so I don't think I shot too many field goals. Just finishing free throws is what I was trying to focus on."
The junior forward attempted seven free throws on the night and hit five of them, which is about 10 percentage points higher than her season average.
East's performance on the glass and at the free throw line is exactly what Washington wanted from her bench, which has been extremely important to the team's run in conference play.
"The biggest thing is that she was a presence," said Washington. "She did a great job rebounding, being physical with their posts, getting to the free throw line and when you are physical and you are present and you are working hard to get touches and you get to the free throw line, you force them to go deep into their bench."
Penn State will travel to Indiana on Thursday before returning home on Sunday against a surging Michigan State team for a 2 p.m. tipoff at the BJC.
--NITTANY LIONS--