Nov. 12, 2017
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Behind 13 blocked shots and four double-digit scorers, the Penn State women's basketball team earned its second-straight victory of the season-opening weekend when it took an 84-70 win over Drexel at the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday, Nov. 12.
The Lady Lions are now 2-0 in the 2017-18 season, marking the ninth time in head coach Coquese Washington's tenure she has begun a season with two-straight wins. Penn State rebounded after falling to Drexel on the road during the 2016-17 season and is now 4-2 all-time against the Dragons, picking up its first win over Drexel since 2009 when it earned a 71-61 victory on Nov. 13.
Sophomore Jaida Travascio-Green (Lisle, Ill.) led all scorers with a career-high of 31 points including a career-best of seven 3-pointers. Travascio-Green is the 17th Lady Lion to reach the 30-point mark in a game, with her 31 tallies marking the 69th 30-point game in program history.
Sophomore De'Janae Boykin (Springdale, Md.) recorded her first career double-double in the second quarter and ended the game with 14 points and 19 rebounds. Boykin's 19 rebounds tie for 11th all-time in Penn State single game laurels, with her 19 boards the most since Nikki Greene hauled in 20 rebounds at Cal State Northridge on Nov. 24, 2012. Furthermore, the Springdale, Maryland native hit double-digits for the third time in her career and first of the 2017-18 season.
Junior Jaylen Williams (Easton, Mass.) added a career-high 17 points towards the team's efforts and sophomore Siyeh Frazier (Detroit, Mich.) entered double-digits for the third time in her career and second this season netting 10 points to round out the Lady Lion double-digit scorers.
Defensively, Travascio-Green set a career high with five blocks, while Williams added to the team's 13 total blocks by swatting a career-high of four shots. The Lady Lion's 13 blocked shots on the afternoon to rank second all-time in Bryce Jordan Center history, just one shy of the BJC and school record of 14 swats vs. Purdue on Jan. 12, 2014.
Sophomore Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) netted four points to go along with seven rebounds, while handing out a career-high tying nine assists in the game.
As a team, Penn State out-rebounded Drexel 52-39 with 16 offensive boards and scored 15 points off of the Dragon's eight turnovers.
Sophomore Aubree Brown led the Dragons with 16 points, four rebounds, and six assists, while Eline Maesschalck added 12 points including four 3-pointers. The bench contributed 20 points to the Dragons' score line.
Turning Point
With 3:31 left in the first quarter
Penn State closed out the opening quarter on 12-0 run to take a 25-12 edge into the second quarter. Travascio-Green contributed seven of Penn State's 12 points during the spurt, while Boykin and Frazier added the rest.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- G Jaida Travascio-Green -- Led all scorers with a career-high 31 points which included a career-best seven 3-pointers. She added five rebounds and a personal-best five blocks.
- F Jaylen Williams -- Notched career-highs in points (17) points, rebounds (9), assists (3) and blocked shots (4).
- F De'Janae Boykin -- Contributed career-high 14 points and added a personal-best 19 rebounds for her first career double-double.
- G Siyeh Frazier -- Reached double-digit points for the second-straight game with 10 tallies.
- Blocking the Dragons -- The 13 blocked shots are the second-most in Bryce Jordan Center history, just one shy of the school-record 14 rejections vs. Purdue on Jan. 12, 2014.
Drexel
- G Aubree Brown -- Scored 16 points and had four rebounds and six assists.
- F Eline Maesschalck -- Scored 12 points, including four 3-pointers.
- Bench Points -- The Dragons' bench contributed 20 of the total points.
First Quarter
Penn State and Drexel exchanged missteps before the Dragons began the scoring with a 3-pointer. Drexel would take a slight lead until Boykin made two free throws and a layup. The Blue and White continued its scoring efforts and were able to maintain the lead throughout the final minutes of the quarter, finishing on a 12-0 run to take a 13-point lead.
Penn State 25, Drexel 12
Second Quarter
Penn State continued its run extending its lead to 31-15 forcing a Drexel timeout with 8:10 to play in the quarter. In just 17 minutes of action, Boykin grabbed 10 rebounds for the Blue and White and less than a minute later she recorded her first career double-double with her 10th point of the game. The Lady Lions took a 12-point lead into the break.
Penn State 43, Drexel 31
Third Quarter
Penn State's defense continued to pressure the Dragons, blocking its 10th shot of the game with 5:13 to play in the third quarter on a Williams' rejection. The pressure allowed Penn State to maintain a 17-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play against the Dragons. Williams scored 10 of her career-high 17 points in the quarter, adding three blocked shots.
Penn State 64, Drexel 47
Fourth Quarter
Penn State suffered a two minute scoring drought before Travascio-Green dropped her fourth 3-pointer to extend Penn State's nine-point lead with two minutes left to play. Travascio-Green caught fire in the final quarter, as she hit four 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes to give her a career-high seven makes from distance in the game and a career-best 31 points.
Penn State 84, Drexel 70
Up Next
The Lady Lions travel to Huntington, West Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 15 to play Marshall at 6 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.