Feb. 17, 2014
By Mike Esse, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was like a switch went off. After No. 11/11 Penn State (20-5, 11-2) allowed Wisconsin (10-15, 3-10) creep back into the game with 4:31 remaining and after seeing the Badgers take a one point lead, the Lady Lions finally had enough.
Over the next 90 seconds, Penn State went from down one to up eight points and Maggie Lucas was pumping up the crowd of 12,585 at the 8th Annual Pink Zone game as time wound down and the Lady Lions clinched their fourth consecutive 20-win season.
"It was just crunch time at the end," Lucas said after her 25-point afternoon. "We had to get string together a few [defensive] stops and just try to extend our lead. We know that any team in the Big Ten is capable of beating anybody, so we knew that we had to get a few stops and I thought we played great team defense at the end, which led to that."
Penn State's 20-9 run to close the game was the statistical difference in a game with a handful of momentum swings. Tactically, Coquese Washington's squad simply outplayed Wisconsin when it mattered most.
The Lady Lions were 6-for-7 from the field and 8-for-10 from the field over the final 4:31 while allowing just nine Wisconsin points in that same time period.
Offensively, the final 20 points came from five different players as Lucas, Talia East, Ariel Edwards, Talia Mitchell and Dara Taylor all contributed. It was an encouraging sequence for Penn State as it gives them confidence that any one can be a part of clinching a victory.
Mitchell's bucket with 46 seconds to go put Penn State up seven and was noted after the game by her teammates. Shots like that are what Edwards believes makes the Lady Lions more of a complete team.
"It is just great having so many players out there that can score and we can count on them in any situation and they can be successful," Edwards said. "That was a great shot by Kaliyah [Mitchell] that put us in a good position in the game.
"Moving forward the games are not going to get any easier. The Big Ten is tough and then [postseason] play will be even tougher, so knowing that we have our freshmen that can step up and contribute is going to be great for us."
Multiple scorers didn't only occur in the latter part of the game, though. Penn State finished with four players in double figures and six with seven or more points causing Wisconsin to have to worry about much more than Lucas, Penn State's leading scorer.
However, Washington said postgame that the offensive outburst in the final five minutes doesn't occur with out their improved defensive play.
Washington made a switch to go into a zone defensive scheme in the second half because of foul trouble on multiple players, but it was that switch that allowed Penn State to play more aggressive defense and force Wisconsin to make mistakes.
Penn State took advantage of missed shots and turnovers and in turn went on the game-clinching scoring run.
"Our rhythm defensively really helped us," Washington said. "We got some big stops down the stretch and that provided us the confidence that we needed and we transfer that to the other end of the floor."
Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday when they host Northwestern at 7 p.m. The Lady Lions are in control of the Big Ten race, just one and one-half games up on No. 21/19 Nebraska and No. 25/NR Michigan State with three games to play.