April 6, 2013
Lucas espnW Blog | LadyLions.com
NEW ORLEANS, LA. - Penn State Lady Lion guards Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) have been selected as WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America honorable mention after their stellar campaigns. The WBCA All-America honor is the second for Bentley, who was also an honorable mention choice a year ago, and the first for Lucas. This is the first time since 1996 that the Lady Lions have had multiple WBCA All-Americans when Tina Nicholson and Angie Potthoff were each honorable mention selections. Additionally, Bentley is the first Lady Lion since Kelly Mazzante (2002-04) to win WBCA All-America honors in back-to-back seasons.
Bentley is the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner in addition to claiming three All-Big Ten first team selections and two Big Ten All-Defensive team nods. She is the fifth player in school history to earn All-Big Ten first team accolades three times in her career. The Indianapolis native has been the floor general for the Lady Lions her entire career, extending the string of four-year starting point guards at Penn State. Bentley leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in steals with a 3.4 per game average. Additionally, she is in the top 15 in the Big Ten in scoring (11th - 14.1), assists (9th - 3.5), free throw percentage (9th - .815) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd - 1.8). The Indianapolis, Ind. native is just the fourth player in Big Ten history and second player in Lady Lion history to accumulate 1,500 points, 500 assists and 300 steals. Bentley finished her career second at Penn State in steals (325), eighth in points (1,786), tied for sixth in assists (567) and tied for fifth in games played (131).
Lucas garnered 2013 Big Ten Player of the Year accolades after averaging 20.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game. In addition, Lucas was a first team All-Big Ten selection for the second time in her career, including being a unanimous choice by the Big Ten coaches. She is among the nation's leaders in three-point field goal shooting, ranking fourth in percentage (.462) and ninth in free throw percentage (.900). She also ranks 16th in NCAA Division I in scoring and 11th in three-point field goals made (3.06). An Associated Press All-America second team selection, Lucas is seventh in program history with 1,838 points and is on pace to become the fifth member of Penn State's 2,000-point club. Lucas also ranks second in Penn State history and third in Big Ten history with 292 career three-pointers made. Her .887 career free throw percentage also tops the Lady Lion charts and her .433 shooting effort from long range ranks second in Penn State history.
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About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For more information on the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.