| 73 | 78 |
| Crisler Center | Ann Arbor, Mich. | 2,920 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Notes |
| VIDEO: Game Highlights |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - For the second straight meeting, the Penn State women's basketball team took Michigan down to the wire before dropping a tightly contested contest. The Lady Lions and Wolverines traded the lead five times and the score was tied five times in the 78-73 setback on Saturday (Feb. 20) afternoon inside Crisler Arena.
Four Lady Lions (10-17, 5-11 B1G) reached double figures in the scoring column, but the Wolverine (16-11, 8-8 B1G) duo of Hallie Thome (20 pts) and Katelynn Flaherty (30 pts) helped Michigan hold on for the win.
Freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) generated 15 of her 22 points in the first half, helping her move into fifth on the Penn State freshman scoring list. She passed Corinne Gulas (411, 1979-80) and Suzie McConnell (415, 1984-85) on the list and now has 420 points on the season.
Page netted her team-leading sixth 20-point game, with two of those coming against the Wolverines. The rookie netted 31 points when the two teams first met on Jan. 17 in Happy Valley. She made 6-of-12 shots from the field, was 8-of-10 from the free throw line and added one rebound and two assists.
Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) netted 13 points, junior Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) registered 12 points and sophomore Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) had 14 points for the Blue and White.
Junior Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to push her season total to 221 to move into a tie for 35th place on the single season charts.
Michigan got off to a fast start, building a 10-3 lead thanks to eight points in the paint - four coming from Thome. Spann splashed her second triple of the contest to start a 7-0 spurt for PSU, followed by a driving layup from Banks and two free throws from Page to knot the game at 10-10. The Lady Lions scored seven of the next nine points, but a Flaherty three-pointer near the end of the first quarter cut Penn State's lead to just two points, 17-15.
A 6-0 run started the second quarter for Penn State, as the lead reached eight points, 23-15, with 7:32 to play in the period. Michigan cut the lead to two points, 24-22, on a Thome layup with 3:54 to play, but Penn State quickly pushed the lead to six points on back-to-back baskets from Banks and Page. A flurry of scoring ended the second quarter, as the Lady Lions scored four points, but the Wolverines scored six - including a buzzer-beating two-pointer from Flaherty to make it 37-32 at the half.
Penn State got off to a hot start in the third period, scoring the first six points of the frame to push the lead to 11 points. Spann, Banks and Mitchell all collected baskets before the Wolverines called timeout with 8:43 and Penn State leading 43-32. The Wolverines responded after the timeout, going on a 15-2 run to take the lead, 47-45, on a Boogie Brozoski three pointer with 3:35 to play. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch, with Page's three-pointer closing the scoring and giving Penn State a 55-52 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
The fourth quarter started well for Michigan, as they opened the frame on an 18-8 spurt to build a seven point advantage, 70-63. The lead would stay two possessions for most of the remainder of the game, before a Leah Knizner (Greensburg, Pa.) three-pointer and two free throws by Page made it a three-point game with 11-seconds remaining. Thome hit two free throws with nine seconds to play and a final shot from the Lady Lions caromed off of the rim as time expired.
Penn State returns home for the final regular season home game on Wednesday, Feb. 24 when Iowa comes to the Bryce Jordan Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Lady Lions will honor Candice Agee and Brianna Banks in a pregame ceremony on Senior Day. The game will be carried on BTN2go.com and via the Penn State Sports Network.
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