Jan. 8, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Teniya Page scored 16 points to lead three Lady Lions in double figures, but it wasn't enough as Penn State (6-8 (1-2 Big Ten) fell to #23 Michigan State, 71-55, in the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday night.
After Penn State tied the game at two on a Brianna Banks jumper, the Spartans came back and took a lead they would not give up the rest of the evening. While the slow start put the Lady Lions behind, head coach Coquese Washington thought the looks were still there on offense for her squad.
"I think for the most part they were shots that we took against Northwestern, shots we took against Minnesota and they didn't fall tonight," she said. "You've got your leading scorers taking shots."
Despite some shots not falling for Penn State, the Lady Lions battled all night long, and Washington was able to take away positives from game.
"I definitely think there are some positives, we played well in spurts," Washington said following the game. "We've got to string those together and continue to work and grow defensively."
Page seemed to lead those spurts on the offensive end, as the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week's 16 points led the Lady Lions in the scoring column, while also filling the box score with five rebounds and two assists. Washington saw those spurts in her freshman point guard's play, and there is still room to grow as Page gains more experience at the Big Ten level.
"She's learning and growing as a freshman, she certainly had good numbers tonight, and there's certainly things she can learn from this game," Washington said. "She's played three Big Ten games now and I think there's a lot of things that she's learning and picking up and she'll continue to grow over the course of the season."
Washington wasn't the only coach that saw positives from Page's performance, as Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant also came away impressed.
"She's a talented player, I love how she plays," Merchant said in talking about Page postgame. "She does a really good job running that team, as a freshman that's not an easy thing to do coming in as a first year kid. She's very sure of herself, a highly highly skilled player, and athletic at the same time."
While Page led Penn State in scoring, she wasn't the only Lady Lion that put the ball in the basket. She was joined in the double-digit scoring column by two upperclassmen, as redshirt senior Brianna Banks added 14 points and senior Candice Agee chipped in 10 points and five rebounds to balance the scoring load.
Back-to-back basics and a five point run by Banks cut the Michigan State lead to 26-20 in the second quarter, but that was the closest the Lady Lions came the rest of the way.
The Lady Lions will look to get back in the win column on Sunday, as they travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers at 4:00 p.m on the Big Ten Network.