Lady Lions in Spain: Day 7Lady Lions in Spain: Day 7

Lady Lions in Spain: Day 7

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 Itoro Coleman.  
Lady Lions Travel Blog
Day 7 – Barcelona, Game 3 vs. ZKK Celje
August 16, 2018
By: Assistant Coach Itoro Coleman
 
This morning we started our day with a sightseeing tour of our final city, Barcelona. We visited some of the most picturesque spots across and atop the city, including the famous Park Guell. After a little rest and pre-game meal it was time to gear up for our last game in Spain!
 
ZKK Cinkarna Celje 76, Penn State 70
 
Game 3…if I can describe game three in one word, I would say "growth". Throughout our time in Spain we've shown tremendous growth. Our freshmen grew up. We played against a professional team tonight and at no point did our freshmen look like they didn't belong on the court.
 
Bexley Wallace continues to impress with her defense. She plays tough and she is savvy enough to stay in front of the ball and make people shoot over her. I've given her the nickname Ms. Intangible. She does the things that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet, but have a huge impact on the floor.
 
Lauren Ebo brings toughness. If the opponent is getting pretty physical, especially inside the paint, you can count on Ebo to battle and most times win the fight. She is strong and does not back down.
 
Karisma Ortiz is fun to watch as well. The fans are going to love to watch her play. Why? Because she makes plays that make you say "WOW". She has the ability to complete passes in tight spaces. She puts her teammates in positions to score very easily.
 
I have to give kudos to the team we played tonight. They were the champions of their league last year. Their guards could score and their posts could score in the paint and on the perimeter.  In the first quarter we were down one after a three-pointer by their big. We actually got down early and we fought to be within one at the end of the quarter.
 
At halftime, we were down two points. We had a gritty second quarter where we defended and got stops, but really couldn't get over the hump because of turnovers. We had a chance to go up a few times, but we did not handle their full-court press very well. Coming into Spain, we didn't put a lot of offensive sets in. If we had our press break in, I really do think the score would have been in our favor at the end of the game. I am so proud of how we competed and I am really looking forward to the season!
 
We Are Penn State,
Itoro Coleman
 
GAME RECAP
BARCELONA, Spain – Reigning Slovenian/Adriatic League Champion ZKK Cinkarna Celje pulled away late to hand the Penn State women's basketball team a 76-70 loss in its final international game Thursday evening.
 
The game served as the final 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, who finishes the international tour 2-1, won its first game of against CD CREF Madrid 108-81 in Madrid, before beating the Valencia All-Stars 87-80 in Valencia.
 
Five Lady Lions finished in double-figures in the balanced offensive attack, led by 16 points from senior Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.). Junior Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore Kamaria McDaniel (Inkster, Mich.) both finished with 13 points, while sophomore Alisia Smith (Lansing, Mich.) added 11 and junior Siyeh Frazier chipped in 10.
 
A tight first quarter ended with Cinkarna Celje in front 21-20. Celje came out with the momentum in the second term to pull ahead by seven, but the Lady Lions picked up the pace for the final five minutes of the term to trim the deficit to two at 38-36 heading into halftime.
 
A steal and basket from Frazier tied the game at 38-38 just seconds into the third quarter. Celje scored the next four points and stayed ahead until nine points from McDaniel and a layup from Smith gave Penn State its first lead at 51-47 with 2:58 left on the third-quarter clock. The Lady Lions kept rolling as Page drained a three-pointer to give Penn State a 57-52 edge at the end of the term.
 
Celje came out with a vengeance in the fourth quarter, quickly tying the score at 61-61 three minutes into the stanza. The Lady Lions kept it close, but Celje found the separation it needed down the stretch for the 76-70 win.
 
A full scoring breakdown is listed below. The Lady Lions have now completed their exhibition games on the international tour. Penn State will have one more day in Spain Friday before traveling home Saturday.
 
Penn State Scoring:
16 points – Teniya Page
13 points – Amari Carter, Kamaria McDaniel
11 points – Alisia Smith
10 points – Siyeh Frazier
5 points – Lauren Ebo
2 points – Karisma Ortiz