March 7, 2014
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INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - No. 8 seed Ohio State (17-17, 5-11) shot a sizzling 71.9% from the field and a 71.4% from three-point range in the first half en route to a 99-82 win over the top-seeded Penn State Lady Lions (22-7, 13-3 Big Ten) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) continued her string of 20-point games with a personal-best 29 tallies to go along with 10 rebounds for her fifth career double-double to lead Penn State.
Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) became the Big Ten's and Penn State's career three-pointers leader with a pair of makes from behind the arc to bring her career total to 358 triples, which breaks Kelly Mazzante's record of 357. Lucas finished with 21 tallies to go with six rebounds and three steals. Enior guard Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) also reached double figures with 14 tallies to compliment eight assists and two steals. With the effort, Taylor surpassed the 800-point mark for her collegiate career.
The Buckeyes sprinted out to a 30-18 lead in the first nine-plus minutes thanks to an 8-for-10 effort from three-point range in the early going. Penn State climbed back in with a 6-2 spurt thanks to scores by Taylor, Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Edwards to close within eight (32-24) just over nine minutes to play. However, Ohio State would extend the lead to 23 (53-30) over the next eight minutes as the Buckeyes continued to shoot better than 70% from the field.
Edwards scored four consecutive points to make it a 53-34 game, but Ohio State closed the half with five points of its own to go into the break with a 58-34 lead.
The squads exchanged scores to open the second frame with the Buckeyes extending their lead to 26 (69-43) with 16 minutes to play. The Lady Lions scored the game's next seven points thanks to four tallies by Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.), a bucket by Taylor and a free throw by Edwards to close within 19 (69-50) with 13:48 on the clock. However, the Buckeyes went on a 6-0 run to push the lead back to 25 (75-50) with less than 12 minutes remaining.
Mitchell's two free throws jump-started a Lady Lions run. Edwards and Taylor each followed up with scores and Lucas capped the 9-0 Lady Lion run with a three-point play to make it a 75-59 Ohio State lead with less than eight minutes to play. The Buckeyes bumped the lead back to 20 (81-61) with 6:17 to play.
After several scoring exchanges to keep the lead at 20, the Lady Lions made one final push started by seven-straight points by Lucas followed by two free throws by Edwards. After one free throw by OSU's Ashley Adams, Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) hit her first career three-pointer to make it a nine-point game (86-77) with less than three minutes to play. However, that is as close as the Lady Lions would get as the Buckeyes would seal the win with free throws down the stretch for a 97-82 win.
GAME NOTES: With two three-pointers, Maggie Lucas broke Kelly Mazzante's (357) Big Ten and Penn State record for career three-pointers with 358 triples ... Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards tallied a career-high 29 points, besting her previous personal-best of 24, which has taken place three times ... The performance was Edwards' seventh of the season and third in as many games ... Edwards also pulled in 10 rebounds for her fifth career double-double and fourth of the season ... Senior center Talia East became the 30th member of the Penn State 500-rebound club as she grabbed four caroms to bring her career total to 502 ... Senior guard Dara Taylor surpassed the 800-point mark for her collegiate career with 14 tallies to bring her career total to 803 ... Penn State is now 13-4 in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal games ... The Lady Lions are the third #1 seed to lose to a #8 or #9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament (Indiana over Purdue in 1997 and Illinois over Ohio State in 2008) ... The 99 points are a Big Ten Tournament record ... The two teams combined for the most points in a Big Ten Tournament game (181).
For the 15th time, Penn State will host the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament First and Second Rounds on March 23 and 25, 2014. All-session tickets are $30 for adults and $17 for youth and students. There is also an all-session group rate for groups of 20 or more of any age at $20 per package. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or visiting the Penn State athletics ticket office between the hours of 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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