Feb. 8, 2017
By Anna Pitingolo, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -The Lady Lions defeated Minnesota 77-66 Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center thanks to dominant performances from Sierra Moore, Teniya Page, and Lindsey Spann.
The trio combined for 50 of Penn State's points, but didn't really find their groove until the second half after some adjustments at halftime. After going into the locker room tied at 39, the Lady Lions came back out and held Minnesota to four scoreless minutes in the third to take an eight point lead.
"We had to reevaluate at halftime and really get our team together and come out there and do what the game plan was," Moore said. "I think we did a really good job changing it around in the second half."
Moore had a slow first half, with only two points and two rebounds. But after the break, she exploded for another 10 points and four rebounds. And while her numbers might not have been huge, it was her effort on the floor that coach Coquese Washington saw.
"Sierra brings an element of toughness, intensity, tenacity to the team. It's one of the reasons why we put her in the starting lineup because she just gives us that aggressiveness," Washington said. "I feel like when we are kind of in a lull, she's the one who will make a play whether it's a big rebound or getting out in transition or getting to the free throw line to kind of ignite the team. She's our lightening rod, she's our energy and she has a knack for making big plays when we need them."
In the fourth quarter in particular, Moore was flying up and down the court making aggressive plays. She was able to get open under the basket, and even when she was covered in the paint, Moore was able to get shots up around the coverage.
Moore finished the game with six rebounds in total out of Penn State's 47. Rebounding was a big focus in practice leading up to the game, both offensively and defensively.
"It was a huge focus coming into the game and we knew that they do a great job crashing the boards," Washington said. I thought the second half was much better than the first half. The first half, they kind of had their way with us on the boards, but we talked about it a lot at halftime and I thought our post players in particular did a really good job of trying to battle and box out and we ended up getting some big rebounds in the third and fourth quarter that allowed us to pull away a little bit."
The two teams played a physical game, combining for 31 personal fouls and numerous plays that ended with players diving on the ground. But while it the game was more physical than others have been, Spann wasn't surprised by the aggression shown by both teams.
"We knew they were going to come in and play tough and play hard, nobody's going to sit down in the Big Ten," Spann said. "Everybody's going to come to play and try and give you their best, they come and play tough. It's a physical game and the Big Ten is a physical conference, so it's just something we prepare for and we fought against it."
The Lady Lions are back at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday when they take on Purdue. The team will be honoring its three seniors, Sierra Moore, Peyton Whitted and Kaliyah Mitchell, in a ceremony before the game. Tip is set for 2 p.m.