March 31, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Lady Lion senior guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) collected USBWA All-America honors for the second-straight season. She is just the second Lady Lion to earn multiple USBWA All-America accolades, joining Kelly Mazzante, who was a three-time honoree.
Lucas has just put the finishing touches on one of the most prolific careers in Lady Lion and Big Ten history. She is a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, three-time first team All-Big Ten honoree and two-time Wade Trophy finalist.
As a senior, Lucas finished second in the Big Ten in scoring with a 21.0 average, which is second in the conference. She has improved her scoring average each of her four seasons, while leading the team in that category in that time. Her 672 tallies this season rank fifth in program history and she is one of two players to wear a Lady Lion uniform to score 600 or more points in three seasons (Kelly Mazzante). Additionally, Lucas broke the Big Ten single-season free throw percentage record with a 94.9% mark from the charity stripe, which ranks second in NCAA Division I and is second in single-season school history. Lucas also ranked in the Top 10 in the conference in stelas (7th; 1.9), three-point field goals per game (6th; 2.3) and minutes played (9th; 35.0). Lucas also broke the Penn State single-season free throws made record with 185. Lucas is the only player in NCAA women's basketball, WNBA and NBA history to average 20 or more points with a free throw percentage of 94.9% or better.
Among her career accomplishments, Lucas finishes her career second at Penn State and fourth in Big Ten in career scoring with 2,510 points. She owns the Big Ten and Penn State record with 365 career three-pointers, which also ranks 12th in NCAA history. Lucas is also one of the most prolific free throw shooters in conference and school history. She owns the free throw percentage mark for both the Big Ten and Penn State at a .907 career clip and broke the Lady Lion record for career free throws made (547). Lucas is the only player in school history and just the sixth player in the Big Ten to accumulate 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 steals. Lucas is also a finalist for the Wooden Award and the Senior CLASS Award and is a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy.
2014 USBWA All-America Team
Stefani Dolson, Connecticut
Bria Hartley, Connecticut
Jewel Loyd, Notre Dame
Maggie Lucas, Penn State
Kayla McBride, Notre Dame
Chiney Oguwmike, Stanford
Shoni Schimmel, Louisville
Odyssey Sims, Baylor
Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
Alyssa Thomas, Maryland
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association, formed in 1956, has named a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. The association has also named a national player of the year - now known as the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award - since 1987-88 and a national coach of the year since 1989-90. In 2002-03, the USBWA initiated an award for the nation's top freshman. For more information on the USBWA and awards, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) and sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.