Feb. 5, 2015
By Mike Esse, GoPSUSports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State (5-17, 2-9) is back at the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday night, this time with perhaps its toughest test of the season. No. 5 Maryland (19-2, 10-0) heads into Happy Valley on a 13-game winning streak.
The Lady Lions have been playing better as of late going 2-2 in its last four seeing improved production across the board on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Sophomore's Kaliyah Mitchell and Peyton Whitted have led the charge in recent games. Whitted is averaging 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in her last four contests and Mitchell has tallied two straight double-doubles.
Pair that with the scoring of Lindsey Spann, Sierra Moore and Candice Agee and the Lady Lions have a formidable balanced scoring attack.
"That makes us a better team when we have balance. That way the opposition can't key in on one or two people and then kind of stifle your offense or change some of the things you are doing defensively," assistant coach Kia Damon said. "So, the more we present with the inside and outside game and have multiple guards and multiple posts scoring that makes us more successful."
More scorers will give Penn State a better chance to win against a Maryland team that averages 83.7 points per game shooting nearly 50 percent from the field on the season. The Terrapins feature a high paced offensive led by Laurin Mincy's 14.1 points per game.
A lot of Maryland's points come from transition, which was easy to spot for Damon when scouting the top five team in the country.
"They do a great job of taking live ball turnovers and missed shots and turning those into points. When they settle into the half court offense they have five weapons on the floor so they put a lot of stress on your defense," Damon said.
Tip is set for 7 p.m. from the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State leads the all-time series 14-8 and is 8-2 all-time at home against Maryland.