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No. 22/19 Lady Lions’ Comeback Falls Short to Michigan State, 75-65
Maggie Lucas with a career-high 33 points via seven three-pointers
UNIVERSITY
PARK, PA.— Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) scored 28 of
her career-high 33 points in the second half as the #22/19 Penn State
Lady Lions (11-4, 1-2 Big Ten) staged a comeback after falling behind
by 23 points but came up just short to Michigan State (11-5, 3-0),
75-65, Saturday. The Lady Lions were saddled with 25 turnovers on the
game, but did outrebound the Spartans, 46-42.
Lucas
connected on a career-best seven three-pointers, including going
6-for-9 from deep in the second half, to go along with five rebounds,
three assists and a steal. She was the only Lady Lion to reach double
figures. Senior guard Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in eight
points, while Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) added seven points and eight
rebounds. Junior center Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) notched five
points, a team-best 11 rebounds and three steals.
Alex
Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) struck first for the Lady Lions with a
layup, but the Spartans responded with a three-pointer by Taylor Alton.
Following a beautiful reverse layup by Lucas, the Spartans scored the
next four points to take a 7-4 lead with 16 minutesleft. The squads
exchanged scores for the next few minutes until five-straight points by
Michigan State pushed the lead to nine (18-9) with 11:32 on the clock.
The
Lady Lions closed within seven (22-15) with 9:26 remaining, but the
Spartans responded with a 16-2 run to extend their least to 21 (38-17)
with less than three minutes remaining. Penn State scored the game’s
next four points but the Spartans scored eight of the final 11 points
in the half to take a 46-24 lead at the break.
Nickson had
five points and four rebounds, while Lucas added five tallies for Penn
State. The Lady Lions had 14 turnovers in the opening frame and were
just 1-for-9 from three-point range.
Penn State came out
strong in the second half as Lucas scored eight points to spark a 10-3
run to close the gap to 15 (49-34) just over three minutes into the
frame. Following a three-pointer by Alton, the Lady Lions had a 5-0
spurt that featured a free throw by Greene and a thrilling four-point
play for Lucas that roused the BJC fans and made it a 52-39 lead with
less than 15 minutes left.
The Spartans kept the Lady
Lions at bay on would push the lead back to 17 (63-49) with 8:42
remaining. After an exchange of scores, the Lady Lions clicked off 12-0
run that featured a pair of three-pointers by Lucas and five points
byGray, including a three-pointer to slice the margin to four points
(65-61) with 3:15 remaining. Kiana Johnson converted on a pair of free
throws, Penn State bounced back with a Lucas layup off of a Nickson
steal to make it a four-point game (67-63) with just over two minutes
remaining. On the ensuing MSU possession, Penn State got the stop, but
Gray missed a three-pointer in transition and yielded a jumper to Kiana
Johnson with 1:14 left. The Lady Lions could only muster a pair of
Lucas free throws in the final minute and the Spartans sealed the win
with six free throws.
GAME NOTES: Sophomore Maggie Lucas
had a career-high 33 points, surpassing her previous personal best of
28 at Boston College (12/2/10) … She also tied personal marks with
seven threes and made a career-best 10 field goals … Lucas’ 33 points
were the most by a player since Tyra Grant posted 32 on March 5, 2010 …
Lucas’ seven three pointers are the most for a Lady Lion since Lucas
had seven vs. Hartford on Nov. 27, 2010 … Junior Nikki Greene led the
team with 11 rebounds. She now has 581 for her career to rank 23rd in
the Penn State history … Junior Alex Bentley moved into 29th place on
PSU’s career scoring list (1,085 pts.) … Redshirt junior Mia Nickson
reached the 400-point milestone for her Penn State career with seven
tallies today. She has 405 points during her time as a Lady Lion … The
Lady Lions are now 24-12 all-time versus Michigan State and 15-4
all-time against the Spartans in Happy Valley.
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