Lady Lions Run Past Ohio State, 74-54
The
#10/9 Penn State Lady Lions (18-5, 9-2 Big Ten) dominated the second
half with a solid defensive effort on the way to a 74-54 win at Ohio
State (14-13, 4-7) Sunday afternoon. Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.)
posted her 60th career game with 20 or more points to move into fifth
place on the Big Ten’s career scoring chart. The
win also marked the 875th in Penn State program history, making the
Lions just the 12th team to accomplish the feat. Penn State also won
back-to-back games in Columbus for the first time since 2002 and 2004. Lucas
was 9-for-14 on the day and finished with 23 points to pace the Lady
Lions.With the effort, Lucas moved into fifth place in Big Ten history
with 2,322points, passing Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport (7th place;
2,303), Northwestern’s Anucha Browne (6th place; 2,307) and Wisconsin’s
Jolene Anderson (5th place; 2,312). Talia East
(Philadelphia, Pa.) continued her solid play inside with 12 points,
eight rebounds and two blocks, while Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.)
added 12 points, four rebounds and six assists in the win. Candice Agee
(Victorville, Calif.) had one of her best performances of late with
seven points and two rebounds. The squads came out and
exchanged scores that saw the Buckeyes take the early 9-6 lead, but the
Lady Lions responded with a 7-0 spurt thanks to a layup by Tori Waldner
(Milton, Ga.), a three-pointer by Taylor and a bucket by Agee to take a
13-9 lead with 15 minutes left. The Buckeyes pulled within one point
after scoring five of the game’s next seven points to make it 15-14
with 11:31 left in the opening period. Kaliyah Mitchell
(Stone Mountain, Ga.) kick-started the Lions’ next run with a layup,
followed by two free throws by Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) to push the
lead back to five. After a three-pointer by Ameryst Alston, Lucas
connected on her first three of the game to make it 22-17 with 9:25
left. After an exchange of baskets, Ohio State clicked off a 14-2 run
to take a 33-26 leadwith 4:45 to play in the first half. The
Lady Lions fought back and closed the first half on a 12-3 run thanks
to six points each from Lucas and East. Penn State held the Buckeyes
without a field goal for the final 4:45 of the half. Penn
State continued to carry the momentum as Taylor knocked down her second
three-pointer of the game just 16 seconds into the frame. Taylor’s
three was followed by six consecutive points by Lucas to give the Lady
Lions a 47-36 lead with 16 minutes remaining. The Buckeyes would not go
away, scoring seven of the game’s next nine points to close within six
(49-43) with 13 minutes left. The Lady Lions kept the
pressure going on both ends of the court as they responded with a 10-1
run to push the lead to 15 at 59-44 with 8:38 left. Peyton Whitted
(Suwanee, Ga.) opened the run and after one Buckeye free throw, Lucas
hit two freebies of her own, followed by scores by Edwards, Whitted and
Taylor to close out the spurt. Ohio State outscored the
Lady Lions 7-2 in the next stretch to make it a 63-51 game, but that is
as close as the Buckeyes would get as the Lions clicked off a 9-0 run
to put the game out of reach. GAME NOTES: With 23 points,
Maggie Lucas became just the second Lady Lion to reach the 2,300 point
mark in her career, as the senior now has 2,322 … Lucas surpassed three
former Big Ten greats this afternoon on the conference’s all-time
scoring list, moving into fifth place with 2,322 career points. The
senior passed Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport (2,303; 2004-07),
Northwestern’s Achunwa Brown (2,307; 1982-85) and Wisconsin’s Jolene
Anderson (2,312; 2005-08) … With a steal on Sunday, Lucas moved into a
tie with Carol Walderman (217; 1981-83) for 12th place on the Lady Lion
career steals chart with 217 … Lucas handed out an assist against Ohio
State to move into a tie for 16th place on Penn State’s all-time
assists list, joining Lisa Shepherd (263; 1998-01) … After attempting
14 shots in Columbus, Lucas moved past Tyra Grant (1,755; 2007-10) for
second place for career field goal attempts with 1,759 … Talia East’s
two blocks moved the senior into 11th place on Penn State’s career
blocks list, surpassing Vicki Link (87; 1984-87) and Reicina Russell
(87; 2003-04) with 88 … Tori Waldner tied her career high for most
assists in a Big Ten contest with four on the afternoon, a mark she
previously posted against Indiana (2/2/12) … The win was the 875th
victory in program history, as Penn State becomes the 12th program in
NCAA history to accomplish the feat … Today’s victory marks the first
back-to-back wins in Columbus since it occurred in 2002 and 2004 … The
Lady Lions are now 36-21 all-time against the Buckeyes … The win is the
program’s 240th victory in Big Ten play.
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