Oct. 27, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) registered 21 points to pace the Penn State Lady Lions to a 102-51 exhibition win over Division II Lock Haven Sunday. Every Penn State player scored against the Eagles, including five players with nine or more points.
Edwards scored 14 of her game-best 21 points in the first half. She was 7-for-10 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. She also added five rebounds, two assists and two steals for a complete all-around performance.
Fellow senior Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.), the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, scored 19 points, including three makes from distance and an 8-for-8 performance from the free throw line. The third Lady Lion in double figures on the afternoon was freshman Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.), who scored 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Other Lady Lions who impressed were freshman Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and senior Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.). Mitchell nearly tallied a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing 10 boards in 15 minutes of action, while Taylor led the team with six assists and chipped in nine points and six rebounds.
Lock Haven netted the opening points off a Rachel McDaniel jumper. Edwards immediately responded by driving to the hoop and finishing a layup to tie the game at 2-2. After two Lucas free throws and a Lock Haven jumper in the paint with 18:25, the Lady Lions took over. Over the next five minutes Penn State reeled off a 20-2 run to take a commanding 18-point lead (24-6) less than seven minutes into the game.
Lucas was the catalyst of the spurt, scoring 10 points during the stretch. The senior started the run by getting out on the break and converting a layup. Edwards and Lucas then combined to hit six-straight shots from the charity stripe. After Lock Haven's Marrysa Moyer hit a jumper to make the score 14-6, Mitchell and Lucas scored the game's next 10 points, with Lucas connecting on two treys and Mitchell finishing around the rim with a layup and tip in to put Penn State on top by 18.
The two sides traded baskets for the next seven minutes of play, with each team tallying 12 points over the stretch to make the score 36-18 with just over six minutes remaining. Penn State closed out the half by scoring 17 of the final 24 points to take a 53-25 lead into the intermission. Fueling the run were Whitted and Edwards, who scored six points apiece during the final six minutes. Whitted put the exclamation mark on the opening 20 minutes by receiving a pass from Lucas and scoring a layup just as the buzzer sounded.
Less than two minutes into the second stanza, Edwards hit a layup to put Penn State up 30 (57-27) for the first time in the game. After the senior forward's score, Penn State went on another impressive run outscoring the Eagles 21-5 to push the score to 78-32 in favor of the Lady Lions with less than 12 minutes remaining in the contest. The scoring spurt was powered by Taylor, Lucas and Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.), with each player scoring five points in a variety of ways. Taylor registered an old fashioned three-point play, Lucas canned a three-pointer and East hit a pair of jumpers inside the paint to extend the lead to more than 40 points.
Lock Haven responded by outscoring Penn State, 18-11, over the next six minutes before the Lady Lions finished the game in fine fashion with a 15-1 run to end the game with a final score of 102-51. Five different players scored in the final six-minute scoring run to cement the win.
Penn State opens its season against St. Francis (Pa.) on Fri., Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. The Lady Lions will raise their 2013 Big Ten Championship banner and give away commemorative banks to celebrate back-to-back Big Ten titles. The Lady Lions also face Fordham on Sun., Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. to close out opening weekend.
Lady Lion Basketball single-game and season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Single-game tickets are $15 and $12 for adults and seniors and $9 and $7 for youth (12 and younger). Season tickets are $99 for adults and $50 for youth (12 and under), this includes a Nittany Lion Kids Club Membership for 2013-14. New this year, the Lady Lions have introduced a Family Season Ticket package. For $200, fans will get two adult tickets and two youth tickets for the 2013-14 campaign. 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 2014 Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 as the Lady Lions take on Wisconsin in the Bryce Jordan Center at 1 p.m. Last year, the Lady Lions donated a record $260,000 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.