Dec. 11, 2013
Box Score | South Dakota State Box Score 
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BROOKINGS, S.D. - The #12/12 Penn State Lady Lions (6-3, 0-0 Big Ten) rallied late and got within one point with 1:17 left, but South Dakota State (7-4) secured the 83-79 win Wednesday in Brookings. Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) keyed the Lions' late drive and tied her career high with 24 points off of a 9-for-12 effort from the field to lead Penn State.
Edwards also pulled in seven rebounds, blocked a career-best four shots, nabbed four steals and dished out a pair of assists. Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) posted her 51st career 20-point game with 20 tallies, while fellow senior Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) had a personal-best 19 tallies on 8-for-14 shooting to go with five assists and two steals. Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) also had a solid game with eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Lady Lions took the early 4-3 lead with scores by Taylor and Edwards sandwiched around a three-point play by SDSU's Megan Waytashek. The Jackrabbits scored the game's next 10 points to establish a 13-4 lead just three minutes into the game and forcing Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington to take a timeout.
Lucas scored four of the next six points to make it a 15-8 game with 15:44 left in the first, but the Jacks spread the margin to 13 (22-9) by going on a 7-1 run over the next minute and a half. The Lady Lions brought the deficit to seven (24-17) with an 8-2 spurt that featured four points by Edwards. However, SDSU would click off a 10-2 run of its own to take a 34-19 lead with nine minutes remaining in the opening frame.
The Jacks scored seven of the game's next 11 points to push their lead to 41-23 before Taylor scored four and Waldner converted on a layup to close the gap to 12 (41-29) with three minutes remaining. South Dakota State would stretch the lead to 20 (55-35) over the final three minutes as the Jack knocked down four three-pointers and made two free throws in that span.
The second half opened with much of the same as the Jackrabbits scored five of the first seven points to extend the lead to 60-37 with 17:46 left. Penn State caught fire and went on a 21-7 run to close within nine (67-58) with 9:34 left. The senior guard trio of Taylor (9 pts.), Lucas (7) and Edwards (4) led the charge for the Lions.
The Jacks would go on a 8-3 run doing most of their damage from the free throw line with six points to make it 75-61 with eight minutes left. Edwards keyed one last run for the Lions by starting the 16-3 spurt with a three-point play and capping it with five straight points, including another three-point play to make it a one-point game (78-77) with 1:17 left. Gabby Boever responded for the Jacks with a layup to extend the SDSU lead and Tara Heiser made it a four-point margin (81-77) with 14 seconds left. Edwards scored on a layup with four seconds left to close the gap to two, but the Jacks sealed the win with two free throws by Steph Paluch.
GAME NOTES: Senior guard Maggie Lucas moved up to 15th place on the Big Ten all-time career scoring list by netting 20 points, moving her career total to 2,028. Lucas passed Ohio State's Samantha Prahalis (2,010) and Tayler Hill (2,015) with the performance ... Lucas also moved into fourth place on the Lady Lions' career all-time scoring list with 2,028 points, passing former Penn State great Kahadeejah Herbert (2,028) ... Lucas hit a three-pointer for the 44th consecutive game, extending her school record ... Lucas scored at least 20 points for the sixth time this season and 51st time in her career ... Tori Waldner extended her streak of games with at least one blocked shot to eight games ... With nine boards Waldner surpassed the 200 rebound milestone and currently sits at 203 ... Ariel Edwards tied her career high with 24 points and also had personal bests in steals (4) and blocks (5) ... Dara Taylor scored a career-high 19 points in the game ... Wednesday evening marked the first time the Lady Lions had three players score 15 or more points since Penn State's 76-66 win over Ohio State on March 8, 2013 in the Big Ten Tournament
The Lady Lions return home to face #24 Texas A&M Sunday at 2 p.m. for the Toys for Tots game. Fans that bring a new, unwrapped toy will receive a ticket for $5. It is also a Subway Full Court 4-Pack game where fans will receive four tickets and a voucher for four 6" Subway subs and four 21 oz. fountain drinks at any of the seven State College Subway locations for just $40. Additionally, fans will get a Talia East mini-bobblehead while supplies last as the second in a series of six giveaways.
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.