Feb. 26, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's basketball program had not seen the lead the entire fourth quarter on Sunday (Feb. 25) afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center, but a late 3-pointer from Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) and Kaliyah Mitchell's (Stone Mountain, Ga.) free throw with under five seconds on the clock lifted the Lady Lions to a one-point victory, 76-75, over No. 24/25 Michigan in front of a raucous crowd in the 11th annual Play4Kay benefiting Pink Zone game.
One of the highlight games each season, this year's Play4Kay benefiting Pink Zone game brought 504 survivors with a total of 4,090 years of survivorship to the Bryce Jordan Center for one of the most exciting games of the season.
Penn State (18-9, 9-7 B1G) improved its record to 14-1 at the Bryce Jordan Center, including seven-straight victories. The Lady Lions are now 7-4 in Pink Zone games, including a 2-1 record against the Wolverines (22-7, 11-5 B1G).
Sophomore Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) posted her 50th double-figure scoring game of her career and 25th of the season. In the process, she has reached double-figures in 12-straight games and pulled within two points of scoring 1,000 for her career. Her 19 points and six rebounds both lead the team.
Moving past the 700 career-point mark, senior Sierra Moore (Hanover, Mich.) finished with 11 points to move her career total to 708 tallies. Moore has now scored in the double-figures in six-straight games and nine of her last 11.
Sophomore Ashanti Thomas (Lexington, Ky.) connected on all five of her shots from the field and hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie her career high with 11 points. Junior Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) hit three of Penn State's four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and three assists in the game.
Michigan saw Kysre Gondrezick and Katelynn Flaherty both surpass the 20-point mark, with 25 and 22 points, respectively. Hallie Thome led all players with nine rebounds and added 14 points.
Turning Point
With 00:32 left in the fourth quarter
Down by three with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Amari Carter knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer to knot the game at 75. Michigan got a wide-open look at a layup, but Nicole Munger's shot rolled off the rim and Kaliyah Mitchell grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Mitchell stepped to the free throw line with 4.8 seconds left on the clock and hit 1-of-2 for a 76-75 lead. Michigan's final possession ended in a turnover to seal the win for Penn State.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- G Teniya Page --Tallied a team-best 19 points -- her 50th career double figure game -- and led the squad with six rebounds.
- G Lindsey Spann --Posted 15 points, including three 3-pointers to give her 41 makes from distance on the season.
- G Sierra Moore --Notched 11 for points for her sixth-straight double-figure scoring game and added four rebounds and two assists.
- Crucial last 4 minutes-The Lady Lions held the Wolverines without a field goal over the final 4:25 of the game, out-scoring Michigan 11-4 down the stretch.
Michigan
- G Kysre Gondrezick -- Poured in 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
- G Katelynn Flaherty --Netted 22 points and had three assists.
- C Hallie Thome --Scored 14 points to go along with game-best nine rebounds.
By Quarter
First Quarter
Penn State found the basket first as Sierra Moore drove to the hoop for a layup in the opening minute, but Michigan responded with a 9-0 run to take an early 9-2 edge. The Penn State drought ended with a Kaliyah Mitchell layup and a jumper from Teniya Page brought the Lady Lions within three with 4:14 to go in the first quarter. At the 2:50 mark, a 3-pointer from Lindsey Spann brought the Lady Lions within one, 12-11, and a jumper from Page with three-seconds left gave Penn State a15-14 lead after 10 minutes.
at Penn State 15, Michigan 14
Second Quarter
Penn State started of the second quarter strong as Spann's two 3-pointers helped give the Lady Lions a seven-point lead with 4:08 left in second quarter, 31-24. Following Spann's 3-pointers, both teams struggled to find the basket as they combine for a total of 15 points down the stretch, with Penn State taking the slim two-point lead into the locker room.
at Penn State 37, Michigan 35
Third Quarter
After exchanging points over the first three minutes, Ashanti Thomas capped a 7-0 run with a layup to push Penn State ahead by 10 points, 50-40. That was the largest lead of the game for Penn State, but Michigan stormed back with an 18-6 spurt to close the quarter and take the lead into the fourth.
Michigan 58, at Penn State 56
Fourth Quarter
Michigan started the fourth quarter with a 9-3 run to give them an eight-point lead with 7:27 left in play, 67-59. Penn State then began to chip away at that lead, with Page's jumper at the 2:48 mark pulling the Blue and White within one point, 71-70. Michigan would push the lead to three points on two occasions down the stretch, but Carter's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left knotted the score, 75-75. On the next possession, Michigan got a wide-open look at a layup, but Nicole Munger's shot rolled off the rim and Mitchell grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Mitchell stepped to the free throw line with 4.8 seconds left on the clock and hit 1-of-2 for a 76-75 lead. Michigan's final possession ended in a turnover to seal the win for Penn State.
at Penn State 76, Michigan 75
Up Next
Penn State will now head to the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face off with No. 10 seed Minnesota at 6:30 on Thursday, March 2 inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
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