Feb. 3, 2014
By Tyler Feldman, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 13/12 Penn State (17-4, 8-1) earned its sixth straight conference win yesterday at Northwestern, but it wasn't easy as the Nittany Lions played a pair of close games on their Big Ten road trip.
Despite leading by 13 points at the half, the Lady Lions had to thwart a strong comeback by Northwestern (14-8, 4-5) to win on the road in Evanston, Ill., 79-75. This coming after a three-point victory at Iowa, 78-75, on Thursday evening that helped keep their Big Ten road record unblemished.
The Lady Lions nearly wasted a 20-point lead, but it was timely free throw shooting that pushed the Blue and White to victory. Coquese Washington's squad finished 25-of-31 (80.6%) from the line against the Wildcats, after hitting just 8-of-21 from the line at Purdue.
"They're [our players] very competitive, and we're a good free throw shooting team," said Penn State assistant coach Kia Damon. "Our kids go to the free throw line thinking they can knock it down. They have a lot of confidence that they can."
Talia East came up big late in the contest. The senior forward hit two free throws and then registered a three-point play down the stretch to give the Lady Lions a 74-70 lead with just 1:15 left in regulation.
"What you saw today from Talia was an indicative of [our confidence from the free throw line]," Damon said.
However, it wasn't just East who was a beast from the charity stripe. Maggie Lucas was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line en route to a team high 19 points, and freshman guard/forward Peyton Whitted notched a career-high 11 points while shooting 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
"What you see from today's game is we executed offensively and defensively down to the wire and we were able to get to the free throw line and knock some free throws down," said Damon. "You can only gain confidence with that type of success."
Northwestern was certainly a challenge for the Lady Lions. Coming into the contest yesterday afternoon, the Wildcats had already tallied three wins over ranked opponents this season.
"They [Northwestern] were able to get out there in transition and get some easy buckets or either uncontested looks against our defense as we were in a scramble," Damon said.
Penn State's defensive scheme didn't really change from the first half to the second, but the Lady Lions ability to convert free throws late proved why they are the top team in the conference.
Senior Ariel Edwards nearly accumulated a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. She also managed to dish out three assists, grab two steals and finished 5-of-6 from the stripe.
"She [Ariel] gives us a big lift," said Damon. "She's a very versatile player and we know that she can impact us offensively and defensively from a number of categories. She takes pride and ownership in doing a good job with that. When you see her come out of games with those stat lines close to a double-double...that's just what she does. It's what she brings to the table."
Next up for the Lady Lions is a home bout against Big Ten foe Iowa (17-6, 5-4) this Thursday, Feb. 6. Tip off is set for 6 p.m., as Penn State will look to move its winning streak to seven games.
"Now that we're crossing over to the second half of Big Ten play we expect the games to be close," said Damon. "The Big Ten is very competitive."