March 4, 2016
INDIANAPOLIS Ind.- The Penn State Lady Lions fought all night long, but in the end it wasn't quite enough, as their Big Ten tournament run ended Thursday night, falling to the Purdue Boilermakers in the tournament's second round, 70-59.
Five points by Kaliyah Mitchell helped spark an 11-0 run to push the 11th lady Lady Lions out of the gates early, as Penn State turned a 4-4 tie into a 15-4 lead, and 15-6 advantage at the end of the first over the sixth-seeded Boilermakers.
While the first quarter saw a big run for the Lady Lions, the second quarter was Purdue returning the favor. The Boilermakers used a 9-0 run over a three-minute span to cut a 19-10 Penn State lead to a tie game with 3:05 to go in the half.
The two teams traded buckets the rest of the half, and a late jumper by Teniya Page kept the game within one possession, as Purdue took a 28-25 lead heading into the break.
The two squads, who played to double-overtime earlier this season in Happy Valley, continued that close tradition in the second half, as both teams dug in. Junior forward Peyton Whitted was one of the key contributors to the Lady Lions all night long, as she racked up a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds on the night. Head coach Coquese Washington not only saw a great performance out of Whitted tonight, but growth throughout her junior season.
"I thought Peyton was one of the kids on the team that showed tremendous growth over the course of the season," she said. "One of our more consistent players over the course of the season, especially the second half of conference play and really happy with the performance that she had tonight. And I think it bodes well for things to come next year with Peyton."
"Peyton did a great job on the boards, just being aggressive and attacking offensively and defensively so that was a plus," guard Lindsey Spann added on her effort vs. the Boilermakers tonight.
Whitted not only had solid numbers, but key baskets to keep the contest close, including a baseline jumper to cut Purdue's lead to 51-50 with 6:22 to go in the fourth. Despite the late push, that one-point margin would be the closest the Lady Lions got the rest to the night. Purdue answered Whitted's bucket with a 6-0 run to put the game away late.
While the game didn't go the way the Lady Lions had planned, Washington couldn't say enough about her team's effort.
"I absolutely thought that we gave it our all. We left everything we had out on the court tonight," she said postgame. "I thought we started the game off very well defensively. And we continued to do a pretty good job defensively. We just kind of hit a lull offensively and with our turnovers, a few too many turnovers and a few too many second-chance points for Purdue kind of did us in."
"This team is a fighting group, we're not going to give up and we're going to play til the end and the time runs out," Spann added. Mentioning how she's seen this group's mental toughness grow all season long.
That fight and effort will be valuable to the Lady Lions, as they look to build on this week's progress heading into next season. Wednesday's Big Ten first round win was the program's first in the tournament since 2012-13, and Penn State is ready to keep that program momentum moving forward. With the return of tonight's top four scorers next season, including All-Big Ten Second Team selection Teniya Page, who led the team with 18 points, the future is bright.
"It's definitely great to get that (Big Ten tournament win) this year," said Whitted. "We now know what it takes to get that win and keep going in the tournament."
With the strong effort this week, the future, both in the Big Ten tournament, and all season long, is bright for the Lady Lions.