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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In a game that came down to the final seconds and saw 13 lead changes, the Penn State women's basketball program earned an 82-80 victory over Marshall in the first meeting between the two programs on Saturday, Dec. 3 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Lady Lions (6-2) improved to 4-0 at the Bryce Jordan Center with the win over Marshall (5-2), marking the 24th time in the history of the program that they have started 4-0 at home and the fourth time in the Coquese Washington era.
Sophomore Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) recorded the 32nd double-digit scoring effort of her career, 10th career 20-point game and second 30-point game with a team-best 31 tallies on the afternoon. Furthermore, Page paced Penn State for the 17th time and recorded her second-straight 20-point contest. She has scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games twice in 2016-17.
Moreover, the sophomore guard dropped five 3-pointers for the second time this season and marked the third time in the 2016-17 season that a Lady Lion has accomplished the feat as Jaida Travascio-Green (Lisle, Ill.) was the last to do so against Georgia State, Nov. 24.
Senior Sierra Moore (Hanover, Pa.) added her 27th double-digit game of her career, finishing the contest with 19 points. Moore's 19 points in the game allowed her to cross the 500-point plateau with 501 career points, 438 coming as a Lady Lion.
Junior Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) moved into a tie for No. 12 all-time in the Lady Lion 3-pointers made list after draining three treys against the Thundering Herd. Spann was one-of-four players to recorded a double-digit game with 15 points, while the junior guard tied a career-high with nine rebounds.
Senior Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) pulled down seven rebounds against Marshall to move her into No. 25 on the Lady Lion all-time rebounding chart. Mitchell now has 566 career caroms donning the Blue and White. Mitchell rounded out the four Penn State double-digit scoring efforts in the contest with 10 points, while dishing out a two assists and adding three steals and one block.
Sophomore Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) handed out seven assists and swiped the ball three times for the Lady Lions, while Page had four assists and both Mitchell and Travascio-Green blocked one shot.
Penn State capitalized on 17 Marshall turnovers, scoring 24 points with 10 coming off of fast breaks, while the Lady Lion bench added 25 points on the afternoon. Furthermore, Penn State turned the ball over just seven times, marking the second time this season it has had 10-or-fewer turnovers in a contest.
Marshall was led by Taylor Porter, who scored a career-high 24 points, while Talequia Hamilton scored 13 points and Shayna Gore added 11. Gore paced Marshall on the boards with a team-best seven rebounds, while Hamilton had six caroms for the Thundering Herd.
Turning Point
0:35 remaining in the fourth quarter
Following 3-pointer by Marshall's Taylor Porter, the Lady Lions found themselves trailing by one, 77-76. Empty possessions for both teams put the ball back into Penn State's hands and Teniya Page made the most the opportunity, scoring her 10th basket of the game on a drive to the hoop, giving the home team the lead for good.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- G Teniya Page - Tied a career-high 31 points, going 10-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-6 from 3-point range. Furthermore, Page went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and dished out four assists.
- G Sierra Moore -Scored 19 points to cross the 500-point career mark. Also added six rebounds.
- G Lindsey Spann - Paced Penn State tying a career-high nine rebounds and scored 15 points.
- Points Off Turnovers -The Lady Lions used 17 Marshall turnovers to score 24 points in the contest, 10 of which came off of fast break opportunities.
- Turnovers -Penn State committed only seven turnovers in the game, which is tied for the sixth lowest single game output in school history. The school record is six turnovers, done five times, most recently on Feb. 2, 2016 at Nebraska.
Marshall
- Taylor Porter - Scored a team-high and career-high 24 points. Also added six rebounds and one assist
- Talequia Hamilton -Added 13 points and six rebounds.
- Shayna Gore -Had 11 points and pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, while dishing out five assists and adding three steals.
By Quarter
First Quarter
Marshall scored off the tipoff and took an early 4-0 lead but Penn State used five points from Page to trail by two, 11-9, heading into the first timeout of the game with 4:58 left to play in the opening quarter. Despite finding chances, Penn State was unable to put the ball through the hoop going 1-for-7over a two-minute span in the closing minutes of the quarter. Page dropped her second 3-pointer of the half as the buzzer rang but Marshall held on to a narrow six-point lead.
Marshall 23, Penn State 17
Second Quarter
The Lady Lions started the second half on a 9-0 run, taking its first lead of the contest on a Page driving jumper just outside the paint with 7:09 left in the half. The Thundering Herd responded with five points of their own combined with a 2:15 scoring draught from Penn State to carry a 28-26 advantage into the media timeout. Penn State was unable to come back from the deficit in the final minutes of the first half as Marshall took a 37-35 lead into the locker room.
Marshall 37, Penn State 35
Third Quarter
Penn State came within three of Marshall when Mitchell scored an easy jumper just outside the right side of the paint, but the Thundering Herd responded on their next trip down the floor to extend its lead to 49-44 with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter. With nine second remaining in the third quarter, Page dropped her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Penn State the 59-58 lead.
Penn State 59, Marshall 58
Fourth Quarter
The two teams exchanged baskets for the entire second half with the contest tied at 72-72 with 2:27 left to play. Penn State took a one-point lead with 35 seconds left to play, 78-77, and Jaida Travascio-Green blocked a 3-point attempt at the end to help Penn State extend the lead with free throws. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Marshall was only enough to narrow the gap to 82-80.
Penn State 82, Marshall 80
Up Next
Penn State travels to Worcester, Mass. for a mid-week non-conference contest against Holy Cross Wednesday, Dec. 7. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Fans who cannot make it out to the game can catch all the action live on the airwaves of the Penn State Radio Network.
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