March 24, 2013
BATON ROUGE, La. - The story line through the first 10 minutes was sloppy basketball and a lot of easy baskets for Cal Poly's Molly Schlemer, but the No. 8 Penn State Lady Lions weren't interested in letting that trend continue.
The flow of the game changed with 7:11 left to play in the first half. Early on, Cal Poly did a nice job of running solid sets on offense and creating havoc on the defensive end with their quick guards, until Penn State ratcheted up the pressure on defense and turned a one-point deficit, 17-16, into a 10 point lead at 27-17.
"I think it was a bit of [the layoff and getting a feel for the pace of game]," said senior Alex Bentley. "We had a two week layoff and we just needed to get back into the swing of things and it just took a little time. Once we got our defense going it was a different game."
Maggie Lucas also took some time to get her shooting touch going, but found it just before the half when she knocked down her first three pointer of the game to push the Lady Lions lead to 10 points at the break.
That momentum carried into the second half as Mia Nickson converted the first basket of the second half on a nice feed from Nikki Greene and the Lions were off and running and on their way to an 85-55 victory.
The assist was one of three from the post players, who also accounted for 28 points, 33 rebounds, six blocks and one steal in the game. The posts were never really in foul trouble, either, and connected on 12-of-18 shots from the field.
"We always say that there are five post [players] and we all have to contribute in some way for us to be successful," said East. "We all know that our job is to come in and fill the minutes we are asked to play."
I would say that they filled that role tonight. Nickson led all players with 13 rebounds and added 13 points for her fifth double-double of the season, while Greene netted 11 points - shooting 5-for-5 from the field - to go along with eight rebounds and a pair of assists.
But it was East that might have had the biggest impact on the game.
"I thought Talia was big for us," said head coach Coquese Washington. "She had a fantastic night. I thought she was aggressive in defending [Schlemer] and the rebounds that she provided were key for us getting out in transition and getting some easy baskets."
To say that East was big for the Lady Lions might be an understatement. The junior set new season-bests with 12 rebounds - six on the offensive end - and three blocked shots, while adding four points.
I will credit all of that work to the statisticians, but what the box score did show you is that she meant much more to her team than just the tangible numbers.
Tasked with guarding the 6-foot-5 Schlemer for a large part of the game, East held the Big West Player of the Year to just one rebound over the final 33 minutes of the game. She helped stunt on-ball screens and negated access to the paint for the Cal Poly guards, as well as tapping out missed shots that led to long rebounds and easy transition opportunities for her teammates.
Those little things were not lost her teammates.
"The post play was phenomenal tonight," said Bentley, "and Talia really came to play. They were crashing the boards hard, finishing around the rim and they even made some nice passes out to the guards. They did their job tonight against a very good player."
For East, it was just another night of following the game plan that was set in front of her; a game plan she followed to a tee.
"We knew that if we could shut [Schlemer] down we could create problems for them," said East. "She's a good player and they were looking to get the ball to her so we just tried to limit her touches and make it tough on her."
For the unofficial Mayor of Penn State, as she is referred to by her head coach and teammates, it was just another day in the office.
"It was awesome," said East. "I love playing and any night I can get a couple of points and grab a few boards I am happy. I smile while I am on the court because I am excited to be there."
--LADY LIONS--