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Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

Penn State Comes Back for 79-71 Overtime Win

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team proved to be the comeback kids once again as the Lady Lions rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime against Princeton before outscoring the Tigers 16-8 in the extra frame to earn a gritty 79-71 win Sunday afternoon in front of a nationally-televised audience inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
Head Coach Coquese Washington captured her 200th career win with the victory as the Lady Lions improve to 3-1 on the season. Washington, now in her 12th season, has guided Penn State to three Big Ten Championships and seven national postseason tournament appearances during her time on the sidelines.
 



Senior Teniya Page led the Lady Lions with 23 points in her second-straight 20-plus point game. Classmate Amari Carter followed with a season-best 17 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Sophomore Alisia Smith notched her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Siyeh Frazier rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Penn State defense shined in the opening quarter as the Lady Lions held Princeton to a 11.1 (2-for-18) first-quarter field goal percentage. The score was tied at 6-6 at the 3:37 mark before Penn State went 5-for-5 from the free throw line to close out the term and take an 11-6 lead into the second quarter.
  • Smith made a layup to open the second stanza, but Princeton responded with a 9-1 streak over the next 2:44 to jump in front 15-14 at the 5:35 mark.
  • Freshman Karisma Ortiz converted a conventional three-point play to help the Lady Lions close the half on a 10-6 run. Penn State went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe during the stretch as the Lady Lions took a 24-21 edge into the break.
  • Penn State was in front 30-26 just over three minutes into the second half before Princeton made five of its next eight three-point attempts. The long ball helped the Tigers close the quarter on a 19-7 streak to take a 45-37 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.  
  • Princeton's lead reached 47-39 a minute and a half into the fourth quarter before Carter hit back-to-back three-pointers, Penn State's firsts of the game, to ignite an 8-2 Lady Lions streak. The treys, coupled with a Page layup, brought PSU back within 50-47 with 6:42 to play.
  • The Lady Lions were within two at 56-54 at the 3:59 mark, but Princeton scored the next five points to stretch its advantage to 61-54 with just over two minutes to play.
  • Penn State did as is done in each of its other wins this season: didn't back down. The Lady Lions erased the seven-point deficit with a 9-2 regulation-closing run. PSU was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, including the game-tying freebies from Frazier will 11 seconds to play, during the stretch. Princeton wasn't able to convert on its final possession as the game was sent to overtime at 63-63.
  • Carter hit back-to-back three-pointers within 30 seconds of each other just over a minute into overtime to give Penn State a 71-65 edge and the separation it would need to pull away.
  • Princeton went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the extra stanza, but the Lady Lions defense only allowed the Tigers to make one field goal as Penn State pulled away for the 79-71 win.

 
KEY NOTES

(11/18/2018) Lady Lions defeat Princeton, 79-71

  • Washington becomes the sixth active Big Ten women's basketball coach to earn 200-plus career victories at their current institution. She joins Iowa's Lisa Bluder, Maryland's Brenda Frese, Michigan State's Suzy Merchant, Purdue's Sharon Versyp, and Rutgers's C. Vivian Stringer.
  • Penn State has erased at least nine-point deficits in all three of its wins this season.
  • With 23 points today, Page is just three points behind Lisa Shepherd for 10th place on the Lady Lions' all-time scoring list. Page currently has 1,660 career points.
  • Smith was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. She's the first player to make every attempt from the charity stripe (min. 10) since Page went 10-for-10 at Ohio State on Feb. 1, 2017.
  • Carter was 4-for-8 from three-point range. She is the first Lady Lion to drain four three-pointers in a game since Jaida Travascio-Green hit four at Wisconsin on Jan. 14, 2018.
  • Frazier, Smith and Page have all scored in double-digits in every game this season.
  • Penn State is now 29-7 in the Bryce Jordan Center dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season.

 
STAT STANDOUTS

  • The Lady Lions shot a season-best 82.4 percent (28-for-34) from the free throw line.
  • Penn State shot 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from the field in the fourth quarter.
  • All five of Penn State's three-pointers came in the final 13 minutes of the game.
  • In addition to her team-best 23 points, Page also contributed six rebounds and a squad-high four assists.
  • Penn State held a 49-43 rebound edge.
  • The Lady Lions scored 19 points off 16 Princeton turnovers.

 
COACH'S TAKE

  • "I thought we did a much better job in the second half taking care of the ball. We only had four turnovers in the second half, including overtime, so that was a big difference in our execution is taking care of the ball."
  • "Teniya and Amari stepped up and made big plays down the stretch of the game. Their poise and their determination to make sure we executed was at a very high level and that's what you want out of your seniors and they provided that for us in the closing moments of the game."
  • (On her 200th win) - "If I take a moment to reflect on it, I think about all the people who have been on this journey with me. From former players, like Maggie Lucas and Nikki Greene and Alex Bentley and Mia Nickson, and our current players and coaches, assistant coaches, staff, all the people who have been a part of this program and have helped me along this journey to get to this moment. So, I have to say a big thank you to everybody and our administration who have supported our program and supported me along this path. It's just really humbling and makes me think of all the people who have contributed to this along the way."


 



UP NEXT

  • The Lady Lions remain home for their next two contests, beginning with a Thanksgiving Eve matchup against North Dakota.
  • Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. Wednesday from the Bryce Jordan Center.