March 2, 2016
| 75 | 66 |
| Bankers Life Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind. | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Notes |
| VIDEO: Game Highlights |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
Indianapolis, Ind. -- It was a total team effort that guided the Penn State women's basketball team past Illinois, 75-66, in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The No. 11 seed Lady Lions (12-18) toppled the No. 14 seed Illini (9-21) behind four players in double figures, led by 18 points from freshman Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) and a 15-point, nine-rebound effort from junior Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.).
As a team, Penn State handed out 18 assists to just seven turnovers and owned the edge on the boards, 35-33. The seven turnovers are the eight time this season that Penn State had 10 or fewer turnovers in a game and the 18 assists are the second most in 2015-16, one off of the 19 helpers against Fordham on Nov. 15.
Page continued to move up the Penn State freshman charts, logging her 24th career double-digit scoring game and playing all 40 minutes for the seventh time in 2015-16. Her 18 points moved her season total to 455 points, to help her pass Tyra Grant (452, 2006-07) for No. 4 on the single season rookie scoring charts.
The Chicago, Ill, native also handed out a career-high nine assists push her season total to 127 and move her up two spots on the freshmen tally, passing Helen Darling (119, 1996-97) and Alex Bentley (125, 2009-10) to reach the No. 5 spot. She made 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line to become just the fourth freshman in school history to net 100-plus makes from the charity stripe. She sits No. 3 on the rookie free throw list with 105 makes.
Whitted pulled down nine rebounds and netted 15 points to narrowly miss a double-double vs. the Illini. Her nine rebounds moved her total to 243 on the season pushing her into the No. 25 spot on the single season list, just in front of Julia Trogele (242, 2010-11).
With three made three pointers in the game, sophomore Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) becomes just the 14th Lady Lion in school history to make 100 three pointers in a career. Spann's 63 made triples this season rank tied for No. 12 on the single season list with Zahque Gray (2010-11). She ended the game with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Senior Brianna Banks (Newnan, Ga.) made big shots down the stretch and ended the afternoon with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Junior Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain , Ga.) pulled down five rebounds to become the 32nd Lady Lion to reach the 500-rebound career plateau, ending the afternoon with 504 career boards.
Chatrice White led the way for Illinois with 26 points, while Kyley Simmons added 21 points, however only four other Illini players scored -- combining for just 19 points.
After Illinois opened the game with a White basket, Penn State responded with seven straight points to take the early lead, 7-2. After a White and-one for the Illini, Spann and Page hit back-to-back three pointers to extend the Lady Lion lead to 13-5 with 6:38 to play in the opening frame. Illinois trimmed the lead to four points, 18-14, by quarter's end, outscoring Penn State 9-5 down the stretch.
The two teams exchanged baskets for most of the second quarter, with the biggest scoring spurt being five straight, with both squads enjoying one five-point stretch. A Jaylen Williams (Easton, Mass.) offensive rebound and putback with under five seconds left in the quarter gave Penn State a 37-31 edge heading to the locker room at the half.
A roller coaster of a third quarter saw Penn State build an eight-point lead twice, only to see Illinois nearly erase the deficit thanks to the three-point shot. Mitchell's layup with 2:05 to play made it an eight-point game, but the Illini hit back-to-back three pointers to trim the Lady Lion lead to two points, 53-51, entering the fourth quarter.
A White layup to open the fourth quarter knotted the score at 53 apiece, but Whitted and Spann hit back-to-back shots to get the Lady Lions back on track. Illinois wouldn't go away, batting back within one possession on three occasion before a pair of Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) free throws and a Mitchell layup pushed the lead to eight points with 40 seconds to play. Page hit four straight free throws to make it a double figure lead for the first time and a Brooke Kissinger layup accounted for the final margin of 75-66.
Penn State will advance on to face the No. 6 seed, Purdue, at approximately 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 3 inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network and can be heard on the airwaves of the Penn State Sports Network.
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