Dec. 31, 2015
| 79 | 72 |
| Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 2956 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Quotes | Notes |
| Photo Gallery (PSU) |
| VIDEO: Coach Washington Postgame |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's basketball team rang in the New Year early with a 79-72 victory over No. 14/15 Northwestern on Thursday, Dec. 31 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions topped the Wildcats to open up Big Ten Conference play and to close out the 2015 portion of its schedule.
Penn State (6-6, 1-0) improves to 14-10 overall in Big Ten openers and own an 8-5 record in B1G openers on its home court. The Lady Lions move to 35-7 all-time against the Wildcats (11-2, 0-1) and 20-1 when taking on NU in Happy Valley. Furthermore, the Big Ten Conference opening win marks seventh time PSU has defeated a ranked opponent in its conference opener.
The Blue and White handed Northwestern just its second loss of the season after putting up a season-best 27 points in the fourth quarter to earn its first Big Ten victory. The win also marks the first time Penn State has defeated a top 25 opponent since it topped No. 16/19 Purdue 75-72, Jan. 30, 2014.
Freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) notched her second career 20-point performance for the Lady Lions with a career-high 27 points. The freshman surpassed her previous career-best of 26 points against Cal State Northridge, Nov. 27. Page's effort included a career-best four three pointers, with three coming in the first half.
Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) also broke the 20-point barrier, dropping 25 points for the Lady Lions, while pulling down seven rebounds and swiping three steals. Banks's three steals broke the 100-career steals barrier for the senior, bringing her career total to 101 and 17 while donning the Blue and White.
Penn State dominated on the boards, outrebounding Northwestern 62-43 in the 40-minute contest. The Lady Lions hauled in 62 rebounds in the game to set a Bryce Jordan Center record -- moving past a 61-rebound effort vs. Indiana on Jan. 23, 2011 -- and three players topped the 10-or-more rebound mark. The three players in double figures on the boards was the first time since Nikki Greene, Mia Nickson and Maggie Lucas each had 10-or-more rebounds against Ohio State on Feb. 20, 2012.
Senior Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif) and junior Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) each pulled down 13 boards, while Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga) grabbed 11 rebounds for the Blue and White. The 13 boards for Agee marked a career-high.
Northwestern lost for the first time this season away from home -- entering the game 5-0 -- but saw five players reach double figures. Nia Coffey led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Maggie Lyon (14), Christen Inman (13), Ashleuy Deary (12) and Lydie Rohde (11) all eclipsed the 10-point mark.
The Wildcats connected on 10 three pointers in the game, connecting on 10-of-33 shots from distance.
The Lady Lions used four-straight free throws from Banks to take the early lead, but a three-pointer from the Wildcats brought them within one with 8:10 left to play in the first quarter. Northwestern notched six-straight points which included a third three-pointer from Lyon to take a 16-9 lead and force Head Coach Coquese Washington to call a timeout.
The timeout was not in vein as Penn State answered back with back-to-back layups, capped off with a three-pointer from Page to knot the score at 16-16 with 2:12 left in the first quarter and force a NU timeout. With one second on the clock, Banks hit a long jump shot just inside the left arc to allow the Blue and White to take a 22-18 lead into the second quarter.
The two teams exchanged baskets to open up the second quarter with Penn State maintaining a slight five-point lead, 32-27, heading into the media timeout. The Lady Lions fought to keep their lead throughout the entire second quarter, using a layup by Jaylen Williams (Eaton, Mass) with 54 second left to carry a 37-31 lead into the locker room.
Penn State and Northwestern opened up the third quarter much like the second, exchanging baskets before Page was fouled on a three-pointer on the right side of the arc, forcing the Wildcats to use a timeout following the first of three free throws in hopes of generating some offense. Page drained her next two free throws, while the Lady Lion defense made a stop on the opposite end of the court to keep its 48-37 lead with 6:30 left in the quarter.
Both teams struggled offensively until the Wildcats found their groove and closed out the third quarter on a 17-2 run to take a slight 54-52 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Lions kept the game in reach, trailing by three until Banks drained both of her free throws to pull Penn State within one, 59-58, with 6:19 remaining in the game. The Wildcats turned over the ball on the in-bound pass allowing Penn State to knot the game at 59-59 on a Page make from the charity stripe.
A fast break layup from Banks allowed Penn State to take the lead with 5:26 remaining before the Lady Lions used a offensive foul called on the Wildcats to extend its lead to 63-59. Northwestern answered back on its next trip down the floor with a trey from Inman to come within one of the Lady Lions and force a Blue and White timeout.
Inman knocked down a jumper following the timeout before Penn State followed it up with a 9-0 run. Northwestern found its first make in over two minutes on an easy jumper just outside the paint, followed by a Wildcat timeout with Penn State leading 72-66 and 1:19 left to play.
Penn State closed out the game with six free throws to capture a 79-72 victory over the ranked Northwestern Wildcats.
The Lady Lions kick off 2016 when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn. for contest against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. Tip off Sunday, Jan. 3 is slated for 3 p.m. at Williams Arena. Fans who cannot make it can catch it live on the BTN Plus or on the airwaves of the Penn State Sports Network.
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