Feb. 8, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's basketball team continued to prove there is no place like home as it earned its 12th victory of the 2016-17 season inside the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center with a 77-66 win over Golden Gophers of Minnesota Wednesday, Feb. 8.
With the win, Penn State improves to 16-8 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten Conference, while Minnesota falls to 12-12 overall and 4-7 in the B1G.
Sophomore Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) eclipsed the 900-point plateau in the second quarter, knocking down a 3-pointer to give Penn State its first lead of the game at 27-26. Page led the Lady Lions with 25 points on the evening to notch her 21st game of the season in double figures. Furthermore, Page moved into the top-25 in all-time assists, dishing out her 218th career helper with five assists in the game.
Moreover, the Chicago native tallied her 26th career game with at least 10 points and four assists for the Lady Lions. Page also connected on all four of her free throw attempts vs. the Gophers and has connected on 21-straight shots from the charity stripe.
Also recording double-digit scoring for the Lady Lions was Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) and senior Sierra Moore (Hanover, Pa.) with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Spann knocked down three 3-pointers, while Moore went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added six rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Jaida Travascio-Green (Lisle, Ill.) now ranks No. 6 in freshman season 3-pointers knocking down her 37th and 38th career treys in her 24th career game. Travascio-Green ended the night with six points for the Lady Lions.
Freshman Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) led Penn State in assists with seven on the evening as she now ranks No. 8 in freshman Lady Lion laurels with 109 assists in the 2016-17 campaign. Carter also added nine points and six rebounds for Penn State.
Penn State was a force on the glass against the Golden Gophers -- who entered ranked No. 6 nationally in rebounds per game -- pulling down 47 rebounds, tying its season-high.
Senior Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) led Penn State on the boards with eight caroms, while fellow fourth-year Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) moved to No. 23 in Penn State career rebound laurels with seven rebounds against Minnesota to move her total to 601 career boards. With her 600th board, Whitted became just the 23rd member of the 600-rebound club for the Lady Lions.
Junior Kenisha Bell and freshman Taiye Bello each dropped 19 points for the Golden Gophers while Joanna Hedstrom added seven points to Minnesota's final score. The Golden Gophers capitalized on 10 Penn State's turnovers, scoring 18 points off of miscues.
Turning Point
With 5:30 left in the fourth quarter
The Lady Lions pushed their lead to 12-points using a 7-0 run, which included four points from Moore and three from Page, to take a 71-57 lead and force a Minnesota timeout with 3:49 left in the contest.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- G Teniya Page -- Tallied 25 points to move her career total to 918 and added five assists. Notched her 26th game with at least 10 points and four assists. Moved into the top-25 in career assists, ending the night with 218.
- G Lindsey Spann --Scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
- G Amari Carter --Dished out seven assists, while scoring nine points and adding six rebounds. Produced her 12th game this season with at least five assists and fewer than two turnovers.
- F Kaliyah Mitchell --Paced Penn State with eight rebounds and added two assists.
- Rebounding Lady Lions --Penn State tied a season-best 47 caroms, pulling down 31 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards.
- Helping Hand --Penn State produced its third game this season with at least 20 assists.
Minnesota
- F Taiye Bello -- Tied a team-best 19 points with nine field goals.Tied for team-high with eight rebounds.
- G Kenisha Bell --Dropped 19 points with five free throws and two 3-pointers.
- F Whitney Tinjum -- Tied a team-best eight rebounds and added five points.
By Quarter
First Quarter
Minnesota had the hot-hand right off the bat, going on an 11-2 run over the first four minutes. Following the lull in Penn State scoring, the Lady Lions rattled off 10-straight points to knot the score at 16-16 with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter. The Golden Gophers used an open layup to take the slight 18-16 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Minnesota 18, at Penn State 16
Second Quarter
With both teams matching each other basket for basket, Teniya Page gave Penn State the 27-26 lead when she dropped her 900th career point on a 3-pointer on the left side of the floor. Minnesota used a quick six-point run to take a 39-33 lead over Penn State before a Lindsey Spann trey cut the advantage to three with 42 second left to play in the half. Spann knotted the score with one second on the clock as she drained her second-straight 3-pointer and fourth of the contest.
at Penn State 39, Minnesota 39
Third Quarter
Penn State's defense challenged the Golden Gopher offense as they went 2-for-16 from the field to allow the Lady Lions to hold onto a 47-45 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Lady Lions picked up the pace offensively, notching a 7-0 run to take a 51-45 lead and force a Minnesota timeout. The break was not in vein as the Golden Gophers scored six-straight points to bring themselves within two of the Blue and White. The Lady Lions used two free throws from Sierra Moore to hold onto a 56-51 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
at Penn State 56, Minnesota 51
Fourth Quarter
The Lady Lions worked their way to a 12-point lead, 69-57, to begin the fourth quarter, capped off with a long-distance 3-pointer from Page. Moore extended the lead to 12 points and closed off 7-0 run, forcing a Minnesota timeout with 3:49 remaining in the game. The Lady Lions held onto its 10-point lead the rest of the way, earning the 77-66 victory over the Golden Gophers.
Penn State 77, Minnesota 66
Up Next
Penn State remains at the Bryce Jordan Center for a Saturday, Feb. 11 contest against the Boilermakers of Purdue. The Lady Lions and the Boilermakers will tip off at 2 p.m. with the game to be featured on BTN Plus.
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
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