Jan. 23, 2016
| 65 | 56 |
| State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill. | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Notes |
| VIDEO: Game Highlights |
| VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Trailing by 11 with 5:11 to play in the third quarter, the Penn State women's basketball team outscored Illinois 41-21 down the stretch to claim a 65-56 victory on Saturday inside the State Farm Center. The Lady Lions (8-11, 3-5 B1G) outscored the Fighting Illini (8-11, 1-7 B1G) by 20 points over the final 15 minutes to secure the victory.
It was another solid outing for freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) who poured in 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 13 tallies on a 5-of-6 spurt in the fourth quarter. It is the fourth 20-point game of the season for Page, who added five rebounds and two assists in the game. Running the team from the point guard passion, she committed just one turnover in 39 minutes of play.
Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) added 12 points, while Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) each tallied nine points on the afternoon.
The Lady Lions trailed by 11 points with 5:11 in the game and rallied to outscore Illinois by 20 points (41-21) over the final 15 minutes of the game. Over the final quarter-and-one-half, Penn State scored 41 points, after notching only 24 over the first 25 minutes.
Over the first thee quarter Penn State was 10-of-38 from the field, however, in the fourth quarter the Lady Lions hit on 10-of-13 shots. Penn State assisted on five of the 10 fourth quarter makes after having just two assists in the first three frames.
The nine turnovers in the game by PSU are the second fewest this season (8 vs. Sacred Heart). As a team, the Lady Lions shot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half, the highest shooting percentage in a half this season.
In a first quarter it was played nip-and-tuck and the difference was free throw shooting down the stretch. The Lady Lions and Illini were tied three different times, with one lead change, that coming thanks for four straight free throws from Illinois. It was also made possible by four straight makes from the charity strip by the Illini. Illinois closed the quarter with a basket from Jaelyne Kirkpatrick to make it 13-9 after 10 minutes of play.
A 7-0 run that spanned the end of the first and start of the second quarter pushed Illinois' lead to seven points, 16-9, but Banks snapped an almost six minute drought for Penn State with a layup at the 6:55 mark of the second quarter and added a jumper on the next possession to pull Penn State within three points, 16-13. The two teams exchanged runs over the final six minutes, with the Illini heading to the locker room with a six-point advantage, 26-20.
The Illini pushed the lead to 11 points on a Simmons three pointer with 5:11 to play in the third quarter, but the Lady Lions fought back with 14-4 run to close the half trailing by two points, 40-38. The run included three pointers from Spann and Mitchell -- the first of the game for Penn State -- and four free throws from Page. With PSU tailing by two, 38-36, Mitchell knocked down two free throws to pull the game even, but Simmons hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to give Illinois the lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Penn State exploded for 27 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, to finish off the come-from-behind victory. Page notched 13 tallies over the final 10 minutes, while Spann added six points. Mitchell chipped in four points, including a pair of key free throws down the stretch.
Penn State returns home to host Maryland on Wednesday, January 27 with a 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans can catch the game on BTN Plus as well as the airwaves of the Penn State Sports Network.
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