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Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

Lady Lions Rally For Another Electrifying Win, 75-68

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Another day, another comeback win for the Penn State women's basketball team. The Lady Lions trailed by 11 with 4:49 to play, but closed the game on a 22-4 run to capture a 75-68 win over North Dakota Wednesday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
The Lady Lions, now 4-1 on the season, have erased at least a nine-point deficit in all four of their wins this season.  Four Lady Lions finished in double-figures, led by sophomore Alisia Smith's career-best 17 points. Junior Siyeh Frazier added 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in a huge all-around game.
 
Senior Teniya Page contributed 15 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. With the 15 points against North Dakota, Page moved into the top ten of the Lady Lions' all-time career scoring leaderboard. She has totaled 1,675 career points to date and surpassed Lisa Sheperd (1,663 points, 1998-2001) to move into the top ten.
 
Senior Amari Carter added 13 points and five assists to round out the balanced effort.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

(11/21/2018) Lady Lions defeat North Dakota, 75-68

  • The Fighting Hawks owned an early 8-5 edge before a Frazier layup sparked a 21-5 Penn State run over the final 5:51 of the first quarter. Frazier contributed eight points to the streak as Penn State went 7-for-8 from both the field and the free throw line during the stretch to take a 26-13 lead at the end of the opening term.
  • North Dakota heated up in the second quarter, scoring 14 of the first 16 points to narrow the gap to 28-27 with four minutes to play in the half. Back-to-back baskets from Smith and Page gave PSU a five-point cushion at 32-27. The Lady Lion defense kept the Fighting Hawks off the board for the remainder of the half to take the five-point lead into halftime.
  • Nine points from Lexi Klabo and eight from Jill Morton helped UND open the second half on a 19-4 run as North Dakota surged ahead, 46-36, with 3:30 left on the third-quarter clock. Penn State scored eight of the final 13 points of the term, but trailed 51-44 heading into the final 10 minutes.
  • The Fighting Hawks controlled an 11-point lead with 4:49 to play as UND led 64-53.
  • But Penn State did as Penn State has done in every other win this season: never give up.
  • An offensive put-back from Smith sparked what would be a 16-0 Penn State streak over the next 3:58. Page contributed seven points while the Lady Lions forced six North Dakota turnovers and shot 7-for-8 from the charity stripe to erase the late-game deficit once again and pull ahead 71-66 with 32 seconds to play.



  • North Dakota was able to add a layup and a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds, but PSU was 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to secure the 22-4 game-closing run and 75-68 victory.

 
KEY NOTES

  • Penn State has erased at least nine-point deficits in all four of its win this season.
  • Penn State won its third-straight game to move to 4-1 on the season.
  • The Lady Lions are now 30-7 in the Bryce Jordan Center dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season.
  • Penn State is 1-0 all-time vs. North Dakota and 2-1 against current members of the Summit League.
  • Smith contributed a career high 17 points, besting her previous career high of 16 that she posted the last two games. She also added a team-high eight rebounds.
  • Carter and Frazier each added a season-high five assists.
  • Carter's five assists moved her up two places to No. 18 on the Penn State all-time career assists list with 265.
  • Frazier posted four of the team's season-high 10 steals.

 
 
STAT STANDOUTS

  • Penn State finished the game shooting 76.5 percent (26-for-34) from the free throw line. The Lady Lions were 16-for-20 (80 percent) in the fourth quarter.
  • PSU scored 37 points off 23 North Dakota turnovers.
  • Smith added a team-best eight rebounds to go along with her squad-high 17 points.
  • Eight of Page's 15 points came from the charity stripe as the senior shot 8-for-10 from the field.
  • The Lady Lions shot 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from the field in the opening quarter, and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) in the fourth quarter.
  • North Dakota was led by Lexi Klabo's 27 points and 10 rebounds.

 
COACH'S TAKE

  • "We seem to find a way in the fourth quarter to really step up our defense, get turnovers, get stops, and go down and make smart plays on the offensive end. I'm happy that our team can go to that level at that point in the game. When we come out of halftime in the third quarter we seem to be a little flat. We have to work on being a little sharper in the third quarter."
  • "We're doing a really good job of having a balanced attack. We still have a few more of our players that are going to continue to grow and be impactful in the stat sheet, like Karisma Ortiz and Kamaria McDaniel and certainly our freshmen posts. I'm expecting that the well-rounded contributions continue to grow."
  • "We've played a lot of basketball already. It's hard to believe it's only the second week of the season for us because we've had so many games. We'll enjoy Thanksgiving and a little time with our families, and then get back at it and get ready for Stony Brook on Friday."

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State wraps up a three-game homestand against Stony Brook Sunday at 2 p.m.
  • The game will air live nationally on the Big Ten Network.