Dec. 31, 2015
Final Stats | Quotes | PHOTO GALLERY
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) - Freshman Teniya Page scored 27 points, Connecticut transfer Brianna Banks 25 and Penn State continued its dominance of Northwestern, beating the 14th-ranked Wildcats 79-72 in the Big Ten opener on Thursday.
The Nittany Lions (6-6) made 8 of 12 free throws in the final 1:41 to beat the Wildcats (11-2) for the 20th time in 21 home games and 10th straight time overall.
Peyton Whitted had 13 rebounds and Kaliyah Mitchell 11 as Penn State had a 62-43 advantage on the boards.
Nia Coffey had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, who made 10 3-pointers but shot just 33 percent overall. Ashley Deary had 12 points and 10 assists.
Northwestern, down 37-31 at the half, rallied to take a 54-52 lead into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats built a six-point lead, but after Christen Inman scored five-straight for a one-point lead they missed four shots and the Nittany Lions went on an 11-2 run to lead 74-66 with 1:05 remaining.