Jan. 17, 2016
| 87 | 91 |
| Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa. | 9,124 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Quotes | Notes |
| Photo Gallery (PSU) |
| VIDEO: Game Highlights |
| VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In a game that came down to second free throws, the Penn State women's basketball team was unable to come away with the victory, falling to Michigan, 91-87, in the 10th Annual Pink Zone at Penn State game Sunday, Jan. 17 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
With over 640 survivors on hand for the contest, Penn State (6-11, 1-5 B1G) shot a season-best 48.5 percent from the floor, going 33-for-68, and freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) became just the fifth freshman to eclipse the 30-point mark in a game, scoring a career-high 31 vs. the Wolverines. She is just the second Big Ten freshman to notch a 30-point game this season, joining Jessica Shepard of Nebraska.
It is the 14th time in her young career that she has reached double-digit scoring and was the first 30-point effort by a Penn State freshman since Tyra Grant netted 33 points at Iowa on Feb. 18, 2007. Furthermore, Page led all scorers and led the Penn State scoring effort for the fifth time this season. The freshman guard drained all 10 of her shots from the charity stripe, adding three assists and four steals.
Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) scored her 600th career point, notching 19 points against Michigan to push her career total to 605 points. Furthermore, For bank, 206 of those points hae come while donning the Blue and White. Her 19-point effort gives her 10 straight games with 10-or-more points, dating back to Dec. 3, 2015.
Also reaching double-figures was sophomore Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) with 17 points for the Lady Lions.
Junior Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) reached her 400th career point as a Lady Lion, scoring four points against the Wolverines to bring her total to 401. She also added four steals to give her an even 50 thefts in her Penn State career.
Katelynn Flaherty notched a team-best 23 points for the Wolverines (11-6, 3-3 B1G), who shot 52.8 percent from the field. Hallie Thome (18 points), Madison Ristovski (15 points) and Jillian Dunston (10 points) all reached double-figures for Michigan.
Defensively, Penn State forced Michigan into 23 turnovers compared to just 13 for the Lady Lions, scoring 20 points off Wolverine miscues. The Lady Lions struggled on the boards; grabbing 27 rebounds compared to Michigan's 37, but were able to block a season-best eight shots.
Banks and freshman Jaylen Williams (Easton, Mass.) each blocked two shots for the Blue and White, while four other Lady Lions blocked one shot apiece.
The two teams exchanged baskets to open the half before Michigan used a small run to go up 15-10 with 2:27 left to play in the first quarter. The Wolverines extended their lead to ask many as 11 before Penn State closed the gap to come within nine, 23-14, to end the first quarter.
Trailing by 10, the Lady Lions used a three-pointer from Spann on the right side of the arc followed by a Wolverine turnover and a Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and-one to come within four, 30-26 with 4:57 left in the second quarter. Untimely fouls on the Blue and White and a three-pointer with one second remaining on the shot clock halted the Penn State scoring drive and allowed Michigan to take extended its lead to double-digits once again.
Stingy defense forced Michigan into an unwanted shot to close out the remaining three minutes of the half, allowing Penn State to go on a 6-0 scoring run, heading into the locker room trailing by only four points, 37-33.
Michigan came out strong in the third quarter, using a 17-7 run to go up 57-40 over the Lady Lions with 2:24 to play. Penn State close the gap with eight-straight points, capitalizing on one Wolverine miscue in the closing minutes of the quarter to trail by nine heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Again, the two teams exchanged baskets for most of the fourth quarter until the Lady Lions roared within five on a Page drive through the lane with 1:27 remaining. Penn State forced a five second in-bounding violation before Spann dropped a trey to cut the Michigan lead to four with 46 seconds left.
In the final seconds, free throws would decide the winner with Michigan maintaining a slight four-point lead to garner the 91-87 victory over Penn State.
Penn State hits the road for two-straight Big Ten Conference contests first heading to Iowa City, Iowa for a match up with the Hawkeyes on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. Fans can catch the game on BTN Plus as well as the airwaves of the Penn State Sports Network.
Getting Social
Follow Penn State women's basketball on Facebook by clicking here or on Twitter by clicking here. Stay up to date with all of our 31 varsity programs on your favorite social media platforms by clicking here. You can also stay up to date with the women's basketball program on LadyLions.com.