Jan. 7, 2016
| 55 | 71 |
| Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 2885 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Quotes | Notes |
| Photo Gallery |
| VIDEO: Coach Washington Postgame |
| BLOG: Positives Despite Falling to Spartans |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's basketball team was unable to move past No. 22 Michigan State, falling in a 71-55 Big Ten Conference contest at the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday, Jan. 7.
The Lady Lions (6-8, 1-2 B1G) had three players reach double-digit scoring, while freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) notched her 200th career point against the Spartans, scoring a team-best 16 points. Page now has 209 career points her first season as a Lady Lion and has scored 10-or-more points on 12 occasions. Also notching a double-digit performance were Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) and Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) with 14 and 10, respectively.
Despite Michigan State (11-3, 2-1 B1G) dominating the boards, 50-35, freshman Ashanti Thomas (Lexington, Ky.) pulled down a career-high seven rebounds for Penn State, marking the first time she had led the Lady Lions in her career donning the Blue and White. Defensively, Penn State forced Michigan State into 15 turnovers, while the Lady Lions committed 11 miscues.
The duo of Aerial Powers and Tori Jankoska contributed 42 of Michigan State's 71 points, each knocking down 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for double-double performances. Powers went 6-for-18 from the floor, but knocked down eight of her 10 free throw attempts, while Jankoska went 8-for-14 from the floor, including three treys.
Both team struggled to find an offensive groove in the first five minutes of action before MSU lit up the scoreboard with five-straight points before a made free throw from Spann. The Spartans answered back with a three-pointer to take a 14-5 lead over the Lady Lions with 3:40 left in the first quarter. The Spartans continued to build on their lead before Penn State battled to come within eight, 18-10 to close out the first 10 minutes of action.
The Lady Lions and Michigan State opened up the second quarter exchanging baskets, while the Penn State defense forced three Spartan miscues in the first four minutes of the second quarter. Five-straight points from MSU allowed it to take a 26-14 advantage into the media timeout with 4:43 left in the first half.
The Blue and White came within six of Michigan State with five points from Banks, but a jumper under the basket and a costly free throw allowed MSU to extend its lead back to double-digits, 30-20, with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. The Lady Lions could not close the gap in the following minutes, trailing 35-23 at the end of the half.
Over a two minute span, Michigan State used a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 45-27 before Page made her first free throw and grabbed her own rebound on her miss. Page dished the ball to Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.), who dropped a three-pointer to convert on the four-point play.
Neither team could miss a shot over a two-minute span as Penn State went 3-for-3 including a trey from Page, while MSU was 5-for-5 from the field. The Spartans did not let the Blue and White back in during the remaining minutes of third quarter matching basket for basket to carry a 63-45 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
The two teams exchanged makes to open the final quarter but Michigan State continued to hold a 15-point advantage over the Lady Lions, 68-51, with under five minutes to play. A long three-pointer from Jankoska gave Michigan State the 20-point lead over the Lady Lions with 3:18 left to play, while Penn State found four final points to close out the low-scoring fourth quarter, falling 71-55 to the ranked-Spartans.
Penn State will hit the hardwood again Sunday, Jan. 10 when it travels to Madison, Wis. to take on the Badgers. Tip off from the Kohl Center is set for 4 p.m. Fans who cannot make it can catch it live on the BTN or on 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.