Feb. 21, 2014
By Chelsea Howard, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 11/9 Penn State Lady Lions worked together as one team to walk away with another victory as they defeated Northwestern, 82-73, with a high level of production from all each players that stepped on the court.
It came as no surprise that senior guard Maggie Lucas continued to make huge contributions for the team as she broke the Penn State career free throw record, completing her 517th successful free throw.
The senior's performance also marked the third consecutive game where she scored 25 or more points, ending the night with 26 points - including seven free throws - to go along with four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Lucas was able to rely on her teammates to put her in the position to be able to make key shots and add points to the scoreboard.
"I was able to find some holes in their zone [defense] and Dara [Taylor] set me up nicely a couple times," said Lucas. "Tori [Waldner] made a real nice pass to me on that four-point play. My teammates set me up with a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities, which is something I don't get too often anymore, and I was able to take advantage of that. A couple times I used the shot-fake to get in the lane and then tied to get my teammates some looks, too."
Although Lucas was the leading scorer for the Lady Lions, she wasn't the only one making big plays. Everyone on the court stepped up adding depth and contribution amongst the players.
"We have been getting a lot more production from a lot more people in the last few games," head coach Coquese Washington said. "Tori [Waldner] stepped up and has been more of a factor and Kaliyah [Mitchell] stepped up and has made some big plays for us, so I think just that we are starting to get a little more depth and contribution is helping us fight through this grind of conference play."
Tori Waldner came into the night with a career-best of 11 points, but through aggressive play and accurate shooting, the junior was able to come out with a new career high of 14 points as she went 6-for-11 from the field.
For Waldner, thinking about her timing, slowing down the game, and making sure that she was open instead of shooting as soon as she got the ball contributed to her success on the court.
"We wanted her [Tori] to be more of a threat and I think she's starting to put together some things mentally on the court," Washington said. "She is starting to figure out how she can be more effective and I think she is slowing the game down and not rushing through things. She's not playing too fast, but playing at a pace that allows her to see the game and see what her opportunities are and being impactful that way."
Another player adding to the depth of the team is Ariel Edwards. The senior guard/forward contributed 15 points after making back-to-back three point plays late in the second half to help her gain momentum. She also added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
It became obvious that Edwards is a versatile player for the Lady Lions as she knocked down shots from the perimeter, attacked the basket, rebounded well, and brought the ball up against the press.
"She might be one of the most underrated players in the conference because she impacts the game in so many ways," Washington said. "She did a little bit of everything for us tonight and we are not in this position without what she's done this season. I tip my hat to her because she has been an impact player for us all season long."
With 12 minutes left in the second half, Northwestern slowly closed the gap to six points before Kaliyah Mitchell scored a layup to help the Lady Lions extend their lead. As the clock continued to wind down, Mitchell faced some tense free throws, but made six consecutive from the line with under one minute left.
"The great thing was Kaliyah shot seven-for-seven from the line and we know teams are going to try and not let Maggie get the ball when its situations like that so we need other people to be able to step up and make free throws and Kaliyah did that tonight."
After four consecutive conference wins, the Lady Lions will look for continued production from every player on the court. They travel to Lincoln, Neb. with some momentum and will be looking to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title with a victory over the Cornhuskers on Monday, Feb. 24.