Nov. 8, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Led by senior guard Maggie Lucas' (Narberth, Pa.) 33 points, the Penn State Lady Lions (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) broke the Bryce Jordan Center scoring record on the way to a 117-77 season-opening win over St. Francis (Pa.) (0-1). The previous BJC record was 114 points by the Lady Lions against Northwestern on Jan. 2, 2000. The Lady Lions start 1-0 for the seventh consecutive season under Coquese Washington.
Lucas notched her fifth career 30-point game on the strength of a 16-for-16 effort from the free throw line. She also filled the stat sheet with eight points, five assists and five steals. Lucas' perfect mark from the charity stripe ties the school record for free throw percentage in a game, also held by Jess Strom (15-15; Minnesota, 1/30/05) and Brianne O'Rourke (15-15; Duke, 12/2/07). The 16 makes by Lucas are also a Bryce Jordan Center record.
Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) was stellar in the season opener, going 9-for-11 from the field en route to 23 points. She also notched three steals. Fellow senior guard Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) also reached double figures with 14 points to go along with six assists and three steals, while freshman Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) was 5-for-8 from the field and finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
Taylor scored the first points of the 2013-14 season for the Lady Lions and Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) added a three-point play to give the Lady Lions a 5-0 lead just 40 seconds into the game. After a St. Francis three-pointer, Penn State clicked off a 6-0 run thanks to five tallies from Lucas and a free throw from Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) to take an 11-3 lead less than two minutes in.
The Red Flash scored the game's next five points to close with three, but the Lady Lions responded with an 8-2 run. Edwards started the run with a layup and then Taylor found Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.) for a layup. After an SFU steal and layup, Edwards hit a jumper and Mitchell scored her first collegiate points to end the run and give Penn State a 19-10 lead with 14:38 remaining.
St. Francis netted another three-pointer, but Lucas and East teamed up for the game's next four points to make it a 10-point Lady Lion lead (23-13) with 13 minutes left in the opening frame. The squads exchanged the next several scores until four consecutive free throws, two each by Lucas and Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.), extended the Penn State lead to 32-19 with 10:13 remaining.
After the teams exchanged scores, the Red Flash scored the game's next four points to close within nine (34-25) before Penn State went on a 15-1 run to establish a 49-26 lead with 4:47 left in the first half. Edwards scored seven points during the run, while Lucas added six tallies and East had a pair of free throws. St. Francis sliced its deficit to 17 points (51-34) with an 8-2 run with less than four minutes left. The Lady Lions scored the game's next four points and the Red Flash closed out the frame with the next four tallies to send the team's into the break with Penn State holding a 55-38 lead.
Waldner opened the scoring in the second half with a jumper, but the Red Flash scored the next five points to close within 14 (57-43). Lucas went on a personal 6-3 spurt to extend the lead back to 17 (63-46) with 16:43 left. After a pair of scores for SFU, Penn State went on 32-12 run to take a 95-58 lead and cruise to the win.
GAME NOTES: Penn State's 117 points break scoring record at Bryce Jordan Center, surpassing the previous record of 114 vs. Northwestern on 1/2/00 ... The 117 points are the fourth-highest point total in school history (118, three times) ... Maggie Lucas tied the school record for free throw percentage in a game (min. 15 attempts) with a perfect 16-16 mark from the line. She ties the mark set by Jess Strom (15-15; Minnesota, 1/30/05) and Brianne O'Rourke (15-15; Duke, 12/2/07) ... The 16 freebies is a Bryce Jordan Center record ... Penn State is now 7-0 in season openers under head coach Coquese Washington ... Penn State improves to 6-1 all-time against St. Francis ... Lady Lions improve to 10-1 all-time against current Northeast Conference teams ... The Lady Lions extend their non-conference home court win streak to 14 ... Penn State extends its home game win streak to 21 games, the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I ... Sophomore Candice Agee and junior Tori Waldner made their first career starts ... Lucas makes a triple in each of last 36 contests, extending her school record ... Lucas passes Suzie McConnell to take ninth place in program history in career free throws made with 378 ... This is the first time since 11/11/07 (vs. Pittsburgh) that Penn State made 30 free throws (37) and attempted 40 (43) ... The 117 points scored are the most for a Lady Lion team since Penn State had 118 points against Morgan State on 12/29/91 ... Tonight Lucas earned her 47th career 20-point game and fifth career 30-point game with 33 tallies ... Lucas' 33 points ties for 10th in BJC history ... With 23 points, Ariel Edwards posted her second career 20-point game ... This is the first time since 2/20/13 (vs. Illinois) that two Lady Lions scored 20 or more points... Freshman Alex Harris pulled down 10 rebounds in first career game ... Freshman Kaliyah Mitchell posted 11 points and six rebounds in her collegiate debut ... St. Francis' 30 turnovers are the most committed by PSU opponent since Lafayette (27) on 11/18/12.
Penn State hosts Fordham Sunday at 2 p.m. to close out the opening weekend. It's "We Back Pat" Alzheimer's Awareness Day, as well as Father-Daughter Day. Dads can bring their daughters to the game for free. The Lady Lions' homestand continues against #1 Connecticut on Sunday, Nov. 17 at noon.
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.