Dec. 20, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For the third time in the Coquese Washington era and the 14th time in program history, the Penn State women's basketball team improved to 7-0 at home to start a season with an 80-67 victory over Iona Tuesday, December 20 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Lady Lions (10-2) shot 52.5 percent from the floor for its second-best shooting percentage of the 2016-17 season, while keeping Iona at 39.7 percent shooting from the floor. Penn State pushed its win streak to six games tying the longest such streak since raddling off a six-contest win streak that ranged from Jan. 16-Feb. 2, 2014.
Junior Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) took sole possession of the No. 9 spot for career 3-pointers made with 123 donning the Blue and White, leading Penn State with 16 points on the night.
Sophomore Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) reached the 700-point plateau with a 3-pointer in the first quarter as she came into the game with 699 career points. The sophomore ended the night with 11 points, marking the 11th time in 12 games that she has scored 10-or-more points. Page also tacked on her 22nd career game with at least 10 points and five assists as she handed out a team-best six helpers.
Freshman De'Janae Boykin (Springdale, Md.) posted a career-high nine boards and 12 points. For the second-straight game Boykin led the Lady Lions on the boards as she tied a team-high six rebounds in her collegiate debut against American, Dec. 18.
Freshman Jaida Travascio-Green (Lisle, Ill,) recorded her first multi-block contest, notching two blocks in the first quarter and ending the game with two blocks. Travascio-Green also added two late treys to score six points for the Lady Lions.
The Lady Lion bench out-scored the Iona bench 30-9 on the evening with five players contributing to the Penn State reserves scoring output.
Iona saw big games from Marina Lizarazu and Alexis Lewis who scored 23 and 22 points, respectively. Lizarazu went 8-for-18 from the field and made five free throws, while Lewis drained four 3-pointers for the Gaels.
Turning Point
with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter
The Lady Lions countered a 13-0 Iona run with an 8-0 run of their own starting with a Spann fast break layup and used two and-one plays from Moore. The run to close out the third quarter extended the Penn State lead to 60-48 and cut off Iona before it could knot the score with the Blue and White.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- G Lindsey Spann -- Scored a team-high 16 points with three 3-points to own the No. 9 career 3-pointers made with 123 donning the Blue and White
- G Teniya Page -- Notched her 22nd career game with at least 10 points and five assists scoring 11 points and handing out six assists.
- F Kaliyah Mitchell -- Had 11 points for the Lady Lions and pulled down four rebounds
- G Sierra Moore -- Scored all six of her points during Penn State's three-minute stretch that allowed them to take a 12-point lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
- Strong shooting from the floor -- The Lady Lions posted their second-best shooting game of the season going 31-for-59 for a 52.9 shooting percentage from the floor.
Iona
- G Marina Lazarazu -- Dropped 23 points for the Gaels on 8-for-18 shooting from the floor and making 5-of-7 shots from the free throw line
- G Alexis Lewis -- Drained four 3-pointers and made nine shots from the floor for 22 points
- F Tori Lesko -- Had a team-best eight rebounds on the night
By Quarter
First Quarter
Penn State set the tone early scoring off the tipoff and pushing the pace of the game to take a 10-5 lead two minutes into the contest. The Gaels worked the Lady Lion zone up toward the top of the arc and used four points from DuPree on the right side of the basket and a 3-pointer from Lizarazu to bring Iona within two, 16-14, with 3:25 remaining. Penn State closed out the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 25-16 advantage into the second quarter. The Lady Lions went 5-for-8 from 3-point range to shoot 62.5 percent from beyond the arc and shot 52.9 percent from the floor with nine makes in the opening 10 minutes.
Penn State 25, Iona 16
Second Quarter
After a jumper on the baseline from Page, Carter and Boykin combined on a give-and-go play to extend the Penn State lead to 13, 29-16, and force an Iona timeout with 8:15 left in the half. The timeout did not prove to be in vain as the two teams continued to trade baskets in the remainder of the half, however Iona was unable to eclipse the large Lady Lion lead as Penn State took a 44-30 advantage into the locker room.
Penn State 44, Iona 30
Third Quarter
Penn State's hot shooting from the first half continued into the third quarter as it went 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe to build on its double-digit lead. With a 3:01 scoring draught from the Lady Lion's, Iona worked its way within 10, 52-42, on a long trey prior to the media timeout. The Gael charge continued after the break as it worked its run to 13-0 and came within four before Spann scored on fast break layup with 2:09 left to push the Penn State lead to 54-48. The Lady Lions countered the Iona run with an 8-0 run of its own to hold onto a 60-48 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Penn State 60, Iona 48
Fourth Quarter
Neither team could find a basket in the first minute of play until Iona cut the Penn State lead to 10 but the Lady Lions used a Travascio-Green trey and a Page jumper to carry a 70-57 lead into the final five minutes of action at the BJC. The Lady Lions tacked on a final 10 points over the final minutes of the contest to earn its sixth-straight win and seventh home victory of the 2016-17 season.
Penn State 80, Iona 67
Up Next
Following the holiday break, the Lady Lions will take the floor Wednesday, Dec. 28 when they open Big Ten Conference play against Indiana. Penn State and the Hoosiers square off at the Bryce Jordan Center at 7 p.m. Fans who cannot make it out to the BJC can catch it live on BTN Plus or the airwaves of the Big Ten Radio Network.
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