Lady Lions in Spain: Day 5Lady Lions in Spain: Day 5

Lady Lions in Spain: Day 5

Aug. 14, 2018

The Penn State Women's Basketball Team is in Spain from Aug. 9-18 and each day a different Lady Lion student-athlete or coach will be taking fans behind the scenes of what the team experienced that day. We continue with assistant coach Geoff Lanier.

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Lady Lions Travel Blog
Day 5 - Valencia
Game 2 vs. Valencia All-Stars (Win, 87-80)
August 14, 2018
By: Assistant Coach Geoff Lanier

Photo Gallery

What better way to start a game day than to take a trip to the Bull Fighting Museum! We were able to walk the grounds inside one of the premier bull fighting arenas in Spain while learning about the historical and cultural significance behind these events.

After the museum, we left "Old Valencia" and stopped at the Center for Arts and Sciences to be treated to the sights of "Modern Valencia". After watching our team enjoy some free time on the water in row boats and kayaks, I am confident they picked the right sport when they chose basketball :)

Penn State 87, Valencia All-Stars 80

FAST, HARD, and TOGETHER is the way we wanted to play on this trip and what we wanted to see from the Lady Lions this summer. I am happy to say that we saw all three tonight!

Foreign tours are tricky due to all the time players spend on their feet sight-seeing and enjoying the trip. The way we started the first quarter was a bit of a reflection of that, but once we got our legs under us and were able to push the pace we saw the team that we have been working with all summer.

One area that was really exciting was the grit we showed coming back from a 13-point first-half deficit. We were challenged in every area from shots not falling, to key players being in foul trouble, but nobody panicked, and our bench came in to give us a great lift. I thought freshman Bexley Wallace was tremendous tonight. She made a lot of key plays that probably won't show up in the box score, but her energy was contagious to the entire group and that energy helped get us back in the game.

It was great to see Kamaria McDaniel bust out offensively and that really shows the depth of our team. She is the third student-athlete to score over 20 points in our first two games with her 29 points tonight, and that exemplifies our conscious effort to share the ball.

Overall, I thought it was a solid performance. Just like game one, the areas of the game we worked on this summer are the same areas that we excelled in tonight.

We Are Penn State,
Geoff Lanier

GAME RECAP
VALENCIA, Spain - The Lady Lions used a strong second half to erase a 13-point deficit en route to an 87-80 come-from-behind win over the Valencia All-Stars Tuesday evening.

The game served as the second of three exhibition contests for the Lady Lions, who are in the midst of a 10-day trip to Spain from Aug. 9-18. Penn State, now 2-0 on the international tour, won its first game of the trip Saturday when the Lady Lions beat CD CREF Madrid 108-81 in Madrid.

Rising sophomore Kamaria McDaniel (Inkster, Mich.) led the way with 29 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Classmate Alisia Smith (Lansing, Mich.) followed with 19 points thanks to a 15-point first half. Rising junior Siyeh Frazier (Detroit, Mich.) put together a 12-point effort and was a strong defensive presence.

Valencia started out strong, putting the Lady Lions in a 27-14 hole early in the second quarter. The Lady Lions closed the term on a 31-21 streak to pull within three at 38-35 heading into halftime.

Penn State held Valencia to just 12 points in the third quarter. The strong defense coupled with timely baskets from McDaniel, Frazier and senior Kayleigh Semion (Dunmore, Pa.) helped the Lady Lions jump ahead 65-60 as the third quarter expired.

Valencia made a run to pull within two possessions as time wound down, but McDaniel scored Penn State's final seven points over the last two minutes to seal the 87-80 victory.

A full scoring breakdown is listed below. The Lady Lions return to the court for their third and final game of the trip Thursday evening when Penn State faces ZKK Celje, the reigning Slovenian/Adriatic League champions, in Barcelona, Spain.

Penn State Scoring:
29 points - Kamaria McDaniel
19 points - Alisia Smith
12 points - Siyeh Frazier
8 points - Amari Carter
7 points - Lauren Ebo
4 points - Karisma Ortiz, Teniya Page
3 points - Kayleigh Semion
1 point - Bexley Wallace