Jan. 3, 2017
By: Jeff Sattora, GoPSUsports.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The Penn State Lady Lions used a 17-0 run over an eight-minute stretch in the third quarter to springboard to a 71-58 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in Big Ten play at the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night.
A back-and-fourth first half saw the Hawkeyes jump out to an early 18-13 lead after one, but Penn State answered to take a 32-31 advantage into intermission.
Coming out of the halftime break Iowa put the first two points on the board, but that is when the Lady Lions responded with their big run. A Kaliyah Mitchell foul line jumper gave Penn State the lead back and Jaida Travascio-Green knocked down back-to-back 3's for the second time on the night to help jump-start the 17-0 run, giving the home team a 49-33 lead they would hold for the rest of the night.
While the offense was humming for the Lady Lions during that stretch, the defense looked just as good, holding Iowa 0-9 from the field and scoreless over 8:35 minutes of game action to turn the tide of the game.
"We talked at halftime that we needed to do a better job in transition. I thought that in the first half they got too many easy baskets because our rotations, communication and transitions weren't as good as they needed to be," head coach Coquese Washington said on the big third quarter. "We kind of turned that around and locked it up in the second half, especially the third quarter. I thought Jaylen Williams played very well in terms of being aggressive, forcing the paint and rebounding the ball in the third quarter. Those two things combined I think helped us to go on a bit of a run."
"We just pushed the ball in transition. That was one of the things we wanted to focus on coming into the game and also throughout the other games we had this season. Getting out and getting out fast and try and put pressure back on the defense and we did that well," added freshman guard Amari Carter, who filled the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists on the night.
While the big third quarter run opened up the game, that lead did not put the Hawkeyes away, as they responded with a 7-2 run of their own to close the quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Washington had a message for her squad.
"In conference play, in the Big Ten, you know everyone is going to play for 40 minutes. No one is going to hang their head and stop playing suddenly because they're down 12 or 14 or 15 points," she said. "There was a lot of basketball left in the game so we knew they would keep fighting and they'd attempt to come back, so the fourth quarter we just had to hunker down and get some stops and pay attention to our defensive rotations and our defensive assignments."
On the offensive side of the ball, along with Carter it was another freshman, Travascio-Green, who led the way.
While it was the guard's first time on the floor for the opening tip in the Blue and White, she didn't hesitate to contribute, knocking down a team-high five 3-pointers and a team-high 16 points in 24 minutes.
"It was the same attitude throughout the game as I've had the other games," the freshman said on her starting mindset. "I just wanted to step up as best as I can since my teammates and my coach put me in that position."
"It's just an added weapon and she brings length on the defensive end of the floor. I just thought we'd mix it up and give her a shot," Washington added on making the move to start the freshman. "She's practicing well and playing well. I thought it would help to have her energy and her shooting out there on the floor at the beginning of the game."
Travascio-Green and her teammates showed energy throughout the game vs. the Hawkeyes Tuesday night, and they will look to keep that momentum going when they travel to Purdue for a weekend contest this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.