Jan. 14, 2018
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
MADISON, Wis. -- After Wisconsin knotted the score at 52-52 with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Penn State women's basketball team reeled off 10-straight points to bolster its lead back to double-figures on the way to a 69-62 Big Ten road victory inside the Kohl Center on Sunday (Jan. 14).
The Lady Lions (11-8, 2-4 B1G) never trailed in the game, and the only tie of the contest came when the Badgers (7-12, 0-6 B1G) Suzanne Gilreath hit the 3-pointer to knot the score at 52 with 7:20 to play in the fourth. Penn State quickly built the lead back to double-figures and Wisconsin would get no closer than seven points the remainder of the game.
As a team, Penn State hit 12 3-pointers to tie for the second-highest total of the season (13; vs. Kansas State) and mark the third time in 2017-18 the team has hit double-digit shots from beyond the arch. On the other side of the coin, Penn State made a season-low six trips to the free throw line, hitting a season-low three of those.
The Lady Lions put four players in double-figures, including two with 20 points, and the starting five scored all but one of the teams 69 points. Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) finished with a game-high 21 points and Jaida Travascio-Green (Lisle, Ill.) poured in 20 tallies to mark the first time Penn State had two 20-point scorers in the same game since Jan. 11, 2017 at Maryland.
For Carter, it was her sixth career 20-point game -- fifth of the season -- and gives her 16 double-digit scoring games on the year. With five made 3-pointers, Carter set a career high for makes from distance, besting her four makes form 3-point range which she accomplished four times, last vs. Indiana earlier this season. The redshirt-sophomore added four rebounds, four assists, one blocked shot and one steal in the game.
Travascio-Green poured in six 3-pointers to set a personal Big Ten best mark, hitting 6-of-13 shots from distance. The sophomore's six connections from 3-point range are the second most makes in her career, behind only a seven-make effort vs. Drexel earlier this season.
Siyeh Frazier (Detroit, Mich.) chipped in 12 points for her ninth double-figure scoring game of the season and Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) added 11 points for her 11th double-digit effort of the year and 65th of her career.
Leading the Badgers was Gilreath with 17 points -- including five 3-pointers -- and Cayla McMorris netted 15. Courtney Fredrickson added 11 points and eight rebounds in the contest.
Turning Point
With 7:20 left in the fourth quarter
After Wisconsin knotted the score at 52-52 on a Gilreath 3-pointer, Penn State responded with a 10-0 run -- including five points from Carter -- and the Badgers never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. A Travascio-Green 3-pointer got the scoring spurt started, followed by Carter jumper and 3-pointer and was capped by a Frazier jumper.
Difference Makers
Penn State
- G Amari Carter -- Scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Added four assists and did not commit a turnover in the game.
- G Jaida Travascio-Green -- Poured in 20 points on seven made field goals, including six 3-pointers. Added three rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal.
- G Teniya Page -- Added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
- G Siyeh Frazier -- Scored 12 points with six rebounds. Added two assists and two steals.
- 3-Ball Frenzy -- Penn State hit 12 3-pointers in the game, tying for the second most in a game this year.
- B1G Boards -- The Lady Lions out-rebounded the Badgers 37-29, which led to 13 second chance points for the Blue and White.
Wisconsin
- G Suzanne Gilreath -- Paced Wisconsin with 17 points off the bench. Hit five 3-pointers in the game.
- G Courtney Fredrickson -- Scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
- G Cayla McMorris-- Netted 15 points with three rebounds.
- Bench Effort -- The Badger bench netted 22 points in the game to just one bench point for Penn State.
First Quarter
After an empty possession to start the game, Penn State got back-to-back 3-pointers from Carter to get the scoring started. The Lady Lions rode that momentum to an 11-2 lead, as a Travascio-Green 3-pointer made it a nine-point advantage and forced a Badger timeout with 6:42 to play in the opening frame. The Blue and White opened up a double-digit lead, 20-9, when Travascio-Green hit the fourth Penn State 3-pointer of the night with 1:42 left in the first quarter. The Badgers closed the frame on a 5-0 spurt to send the game to the second quarter with Penn State leading by six.
Penn State 20, at Wisconsin 14
Second Quarter
The two teams played the second quarter almost even, with the Lady Lions owning a slim 18-16 edge in the second 10 minutes to take an eight-point lead into the half. After Penn State scored the first two buckets, with scores from Page and Travascio-Green, the Badgers used an 11-6 burst to make it a five-point game, 30-25, with 3:19 to play. The 3-pointer pushed Penn State's lead back to double-figures, as connections from distance by Travascio-Green and Page moved the Lady Lion lead to 36-25 with 1:38 to play. Five-straight points from the Badgers, including four from Courtney Fredrickson, the home team within six with under 10 seconds on the clock. However, Frazier went coast-to-coast and got a layup at the buzzer to send Penn State to the locker room leading by eight.
Penn State 38, at Wisconsin 30
Third Quarter
Both teams worked through extended scoring droughts in the third quarter and Wisconsin pulled within one with 5:09 to play in the third frame, before Penn State scored six of the final eight points. After a Gilreath 3-pointer made it 44-43 with 5:09 to play, A De'Janae Boykin (Springdale, Md.) jumper broke a two-minute scoring drought and Page added a free throw to make it a two possession game, 47-43, with 90-seconds left in the third quarter. A Gilreath layup with 1:30 to play brought it back to a two-point game, but a 3-pointer by Carter off of an offensive rebound made it a five-point edge for Penn State heading to the fourth quarter.
Penn State 50, at Wisconsin 45
Fourth Quarter
After Page got a jumper to fall to open the fourth quarter, Wisconsin scored seven-straight points to knot the score at 52-52. A pair of McMorris layups and a 3-pointer from Gilreath evened the score for the first, and only time, in the game with 7:20 to go in the contest. Following the Gilreath equalizer, Penn State went on a 10-0 run to retake the momentum and eventually the road win. Travascio-Green hit a 3-pointer to push Penn State back into the lead and Carter added five points during the spurt. With Penn State leading by 10, 62-52, following a Frazier layup, the Badgers never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Penn State 69, at Wisconsin 62
Up Next
Penn State returns home for two-straight games, beginning with a tilt vs. Rutgers on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be carried on BTN2go.com, as well as over the airwaves of the Penn State Radio Network.