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Lady Lions Post Comeback Win at Michigan State, 66-54
In
a game of runs, the #17/16 Penn State Lady Lions (13-4, 4-1 Big Ten)
had the last run as they came back from a seven-point halftime deficit
to earn a 66-54 win at Michigan State (12-6, 4-1) to hand the Spartans
their first conference loss. This marks the first time since 2003 and
2004 that the Lady Lions have won back-to-back games in East Lansing.
Senior
guard Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) led the charge for the Lady Lions
with 18 points, including 10 makes from the free throw line, four
rebounds, two assists andfour steals. Senior guard Ariel Edwards
(Elmont, N.Y.) scored 11 of her 16 points in the opening frame. She
also added six rebounds and a pair of assists.
Senior
guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) moved into 10th place on the Big
Ten’s career scoring chart with 16 markers today. She passes Purdue’s
Stephanie White for the position. Lucas also had four rebounds and four
steals in the victory. Freshman Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.)
was stellar off of the bench with six points and a career-high 10
rebounds in 16 minutes.
The Spartans sprinted out
to a 7-0 lead in thefirst 2:42, but the Lions fought back with a jumper
by Lucas and one Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.) free throw to close
within four (7-3). After a score by Annalise Pickrel, the Lady Lions
clicked off a 9-3 run to tie the game at 12-12 with 12:11 remaining.
Edwards paced the run with four points, while Tori Waldner (Milton,
Ga.) and Taylor added two points each and Mitchell made one of two free
throws.
The Spartans came out of the 12-minute
timeoutand posted a 12-4 run to establish a 24-16 lead with 6:50 on the
clock. Edwards sparked a 7-2 run that helped the Lady Lions to close
the gap. Lucas hit a jumper and after one free throw by the Spartans,
Edwards hit one of two from the line and Lucas connected on a deep
two-point field goal to make it 25-23 with three minutes to play.
After
a three-pointer by Klarissa Bell, the Lady Lions scored four of the
game’s next five points thanks to two freebies by Taylor and another
layup for Edwards to make a 29-27 Spartan lead with 1:34 on the clock.
However, Michigan State scored the final five points of the frame to
take a 34-27 lead into the break.
The Spartans
scored the first basket of the second half to extend their lead to
36-27, but the Lady Lions fought back by scoring six of the game’s next
10 points on two free throws by Edwards and baskets by Taylor and East
to make it a 40-33 game with 12:14 to play. Lucas then spurred on
another Lady Lion run with her first three-pointer, which was followed
by a score by Taylor, two free throws by East and a rebound and a
putback by Mitchell to give Penn State its first lead of the game at
42-40.Taylor capped the 11-0 run with two free throws to make it a
44-40 game with 14:30 left.
Michigan State scored
the next four points to even the score at 44-44, but the Lady Lions
clicked off nine consecutive points thanks to a three-pointer by Lucas
and scores by Taylor, Edwards and East to make it a 53-44 game with
7:32 remaining. The Spartans scored three of the next four points to
close the gap to 54-47, but Penn State got two freebies fromLucas and
one free throw from Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) to make it a
10-point lead (57-47) with 4:49 left.
The Spartans
scored the next four points to close the gap, but the Lions sealed the
win with nine free throws in the final two minutes.
GAME
NOTES: With 16 points on Sunday, Maggie Lucas is moved into 10th place
on the Big Ten all-time scoring list with 2,193 points in her storied
career, passing Purdue’s Stephanie White (2,182; 1996-99) … Tori
Waldner reached the 75 career block milestone with a rejection in the
first half and became just the 16thplayer in Lady Lion program history
to accumulate 75 swats … Waldner is tied Tyra Grant (75; 2007-2010) for
15th in Penn State history in career blocks … Dara Taylor swiped the
200th steal of her collegiate career in the first frame on Sunday …
With 18 points, Taylor equaled her personal best mark for points in a
Big Ten game, matching her previous high of 18 against Michigan State
(1/6/13) a season ago … Talia East hit the first of two free throws in
the second half to reach the 300-point mark for her Lady Lion career …
Kaliyah Mitchell set a career high for most rebounds in a game with 10,
besting her previous mark of eight against Bucknell (11/20/13) … With
the victory, Penn State is now 28-14 in the all-time series against
Michigan State … The Lady Lions won back-to-back contests in East
Lansing for the first time since 2003 and 2004.
The
Lady Lions are back in the BJC to host Indiana on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at
7 p.m. It’s Dollar Dog Night and Centre County Women’s Resource Center
Day. Fans that bring items from the CCWRC needed item list and receive
a $5 ticket. It’s also another Dollar Dog Night, as well as Greek Night
for Penn State students.
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