Postgame Quotes: Head Coach Coquese Washington, Teniya Page, Alisia Smith
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's basketball senior guard Teniya Page scored her 2,000th career point Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center as the Lady Lions fell 81-61 to #13/12 Iowa.
With a basket at the 7:08 mark of the third quarter, Page scored her 13th point of the game and 2,000th of her career. She becomes the sixth-ever Lady Lion to reach the milestone. Page finished with a team-best 17 points against the Hawkeyes.
2⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣
— Penn State Lady Lion Basketball (@PennStateWBB) February 3, 2019
Teniya Page becomes the sixth-ever Lady Lion to reach the 2,000-point milestone! #BringTheRoar pic.twitter.com/fzIAdsyd9x
Career point number 2⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣ has hit the bottom of the net for Teniya Page!
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) February 3, 2019
Congratulations to the @PennStateWBB senior! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/92KTJvjJjk
Sophomore Alisia Smith followed with 15 points and a team high-tying seven rebounds. Senior Amari Carter followed with 10 points and a squad-high five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lady Lions started hot, making six of their first seven field goals to get out to a quick 13-9 lead just over four minutes into the game. The Hawkeyes answered with an 11-3 run over the next 2:48 as Iowa surged ahead 20-16 with 2:42 left in the first quarter. The Lady Lions scored six of the quarter's final 10 points to trim the gap to two at 24-22 heading into the second term.
- Iowa spent the first three-plus minutes of the second quarter on a 10-2 run to stretch its lead to 34-24 and force a Penn State timeout 3:20 into the stanza. The Big Ten-leading Iowa offense continued to shine as the Hawkeyes outscored the Lady Lions 24-11 in the second term to take a 48-33 lead at the break.
- An Iowa layup opened the second half, but Penn State responded by making six of its next seven field goals to string together a 13-2 run over the next 2:27. Smith contributed six points while Page scored her 2,000th-career point at the 7:08 mark to help pull the Lady Lions within 52-44 with 6:31 left on the clock.
- The Hawkeyes made eight of their final 12 field goal attempts of the third quarter, however, to retake a 15-point lead at 70-55 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
- Penn State pulled within 11 after back-to-back jumpers from freshman Karisma Ortiz opened the fourth quarter, but it would be as close as the Lady Lions would get the rest of the way as Iowa's conference-leading offense closed out the 81-61 win.
KEY NOTES
- Page is the sixth-ever Lady Lion to reach the 2,000-point milestone, joining the likes of former Penn State legends Kelly Mazzante (2,919 points), Maggie Lucas (2,510), Susan Robinson (2,253), Tyra Grant (2,044) and Kahadeejah Herbert (2,026).
- With her 17 points, Page surpassed Tanisha Wright (1,995 points, 2001-05) to move into sixth place on the Penn State career scoring list. Her career total now sits at 2,004 points.
- Page is just four assists away from becoming the first-ever Lady Lion to eclipse 2,000 career points, 400 career rebounds and 400 career assists.
- Page stretched her double-digit scoring streak to 38-straight games. It also marked her 99th career double figure effort.
- With six field goals in the game, Page moves up the career record ladder into 11th place with 664 field goals replacing Andrea Garner (1996-00).
- Smith tied her Big Ten career-best at 15 points last achieved at Indiana (12/31).
- Smith surpassed her Big Ten high for field goals made with seven in the game. She previously had a high of six against Illinois (1/12). The effort also marks her fourth time tying her career and season high of seven field goals in a game.
- Carter marked a new season-high of steals with four in the game surpassing her previous high of three with the last being against Illinois (1/17).
- Ortiz surpassed her Big Ten high in rebounds with seven in the game previously having a high of six set at Indiana (12/31).
STAT STANDOUTS
- Iowa finished the game shooting 53.1 percent (34-for-64) from the field compared to Penn State's 33.8 percent (24-for-71) clip. The Hawkeyes entered Sunday's contest leading the Big Ten in scoring offense.
- Iowa held a 54-20 edge in points scored in the paint.
- Penn State snatched a Big Ten season high 12 steals. Carter led the squad with four, while Ortiz and Page each added three.
- The Hawkeyes held a 49-33 rebounding advantage, but were limited to just four second-chance points.
- Iowa was led by Megan Gustafson's 30 points. Gustafson is the nation's leading scorer.
COACH'S TAKE
Head Coach Coquese Washington
- "Hats off to Iowa. I thought they came in and played a gutsy game. Megan Gustafson is a phenomenal talent and I thought she really carried their team today and got big buckets when they needed them."
- "For us, we have to find a way to score more points. When you play in the Big Ten, a conference where scoring is a premium, we have to find a way to generate more points. If we can do that then I think we'll be in pretty good shape."
- Full transcript
UP NEXT
- The Lady Lions hit the road for a mid-week battle at Ohio State Wednesday. Tipoff from Columbus, Ohio is slated for 7 p.m.