Feb. 10, 2014
By Tyler Feldman, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following a tough three-point loss at home on Thursday to Iowa, Penn State senior Maggie Lucas decided to take matters into her own hands yesterday afternoon at Ohio State.
The Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year tallied 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc to lead No. 10/9 Penn State (18-5, 9-2) to a dominant, 74-54, road victory over Ohio State (14-13, 4-7).
"Top to bottom this is a very competitive conference," said Lucas. "You know going into every game that everyone is going to give you their best shot, and you're going to give them your best shot. That's what makes the Big Ten so much fun."
It took some time, but Lucas managed to find separation from Ohio State's defense.
Not only did Lucas notch her 60th career game with 20 or more points, but she also moved into fifth place on the Big Ten career scoring list with 2,322 career points.
"A lot of times at the beginning of games I am seeing a lot more pressure," said Lucas. "Once the game goes on you can find some breakdowns in the defense."
As a team, the Blue and White shot an efficient 49.1 percent (27-for-55) from the field and 45.5 percent from downtown (5-for-11) to rebound from their loss earlier in the week and take care of business in Columbus.
"One of the things I like about our team is we're pretty resilient," said Penn State head coach Coquese Washington. "In Maggie's time here that's been one of the things we've done well. We've done a good job of bouncing back when we've hit some adversity and suffered some tough [losses]. I was pleased to see that continue today."
One player who certainly bounced back yesterday was point guard Dara Taylor. The senior registered 12 points, six assists and four rebounds to head Penn State's offensive charge.
"Dara really set me up well a couple of times and that really helped me get going," said Lucas. "She found me in transition a couple times."
However, it wasn't just Lucas and the offense though that allowed the Lady Lions to win by 20 points on the road. Washington's 2-3 zone defense stifled the Buckeyes.
The Lady Lions held the Buckeyes to 27.9 percent (17-for-61) shooting from the field and just 21.7 percent (5-for-23) from behind the three-point line.
"We definitely wanted to keep the ball in front of us and not give up paint touches and layups," said Washington. "I thought our zone helped us do that."
Forward Talia East powered the Lady Lions down on the low post on both ends of the floor. The senior added to her dynamic final season by scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds and swatting away two shots.
On a historic note, Penn State recorded its 875th win yesterday, becoming just the 12th women's collegiate basketball program to reach such an achievement.
With just five regular season games remaining, Washington's squad stays on the road this upcoming week. The Lady Lions take on the Indiana Hoosiers (17-6, 4-6) in Bloomington on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m.