Nov. 13, 2015
| 86 | 82 |
| Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 2941 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Quotes | Notes |
| Photo Gallery (PSU) |
| VIDEO: Coach Washington Postgame |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the third time in program history the Penn State women's basketball team played an overtime contest in a season opener, claiming an 86-82 victory over Holy Cross inside the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday (Nov. 13) evening. Led by a 22-point, 11-rebound effort from Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) the helped head coach Coquese Washington improve to 9-0 in season opening games as a head coach.
Penn State (1-0) owned the rebounding edge (45-39) and forced 23 Holy Cross (0-1) turnovers in the contest. The Crusaders shot 46 percent for the game, compared to 44 percent for Penn State, and hit 10-of-25 shots from beyond the arch to keep pace.
Whitted entered halftime with four points and two rebounds, but came out in the second half and went to work, scoring 18 points with nine rebounds in the final two quarters and overtime. It was the first career double-double for the junior, as she set career-highs in both points (22) and rebounds (11).
Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) equaled her career-high with 20 points, adding three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) was the third Lady Lion to reach double figures, pouring in 15 points to go along with seven assists. Page was 6-of-11 shooting on the night and added two rebounds and one steal.
Senior Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) pulled down eight rebounds and added five points. She also blocked three shots to move her career total to 90 swats, passing Kathy Phillips (89, 1989-92) to move into the No. 12 spot on the Lady Lion career charts.
Holy Corss' Raquel Scott led all scorers with 36 points, while Lisa Mifsud handed out a game-high eight assists.
Penn State is now 40-12 in season openers since the 1965 campaign, owning a 44-8 all-time mark in home openers, including a 17-3 ledger at the Bryce Jordan Center. Furthermore, head coach Coquese Washington is a perfect 9-0 in the first game of the season since taking the helm of the Lady Lions program to start the 2007-08 campaign.
Holy Cross raced out to a 12-2 in the opening quarter. The Crusaders hit a three-pointer to open the scoring and, after a Page jumper, Scott reeled off seven straight points and Mifsud converted a layup to push the Holy Cross lead 10 points. Penn State battled back with 10 unanswered points to tie the score at 12 apiece when Whitted converted a layup while being fouled, connecting on the free throw to knot the score with 4:31 to play. Holy Cross closed the half with a two-point lead, 19-17.
The lead changed hands only once in the game, as Penn State took the lead for good at 20-19 with 7:42 left in the second quarter on a Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) layup. The blue and white eventually built a 13-point lead with 2:29 left in the first half when Jaylen Williams (Easton, Mass.) connected on a pair of free throws to give Penn State its largest lead of the first half at 38-25. The Crusaders cut that lead to just four points at the break thanks to a 9-0 run to close the second quarter.
A 14-4 run over the final six minutes of the third quarter helped the Lady Lion build a 61-45 edge heading into the fourth. During that stretch, Page, Whitted and Ashanti Thomas (Lexington, Ky.) each chipped in four points. Overall, Penn State outscored Holy Cross 23-11 in the third period.
The fourth quarter was a polar opposite from the third quarter, as the Crusaders outscored the Lady Lions, 27-11. Holly Cross trailed by 10 points with 4:52 to play, but outscored Penn State 17-7 down the stretch, including a Katie Doherty three pointer with 1:12 to make it a one possession game. After a Whitted free throw made it a four-point game, 72-68, with 43 seconds remaining, the Crusaders would convert two layups to knot the score and send it to overtime. Banks' three-point attempt at the horn caromed off the back iron.
The Lady Lions struck first in the overtime period, but Holy Cross battled back and the game sat even at 79 points with 1:57 to play. Penn State connected seven free throws in the final two minutes -- all of their points during that span -- and held the Crusaders to just a layup and one free throw to earn the season opening victory.
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