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Lady Lions Top UTEP to Advance to NCAA Second Round
Penn State meets LSU Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET
BATON
ROUGE, LA.; March 18, 2012 — The No. 4 seed Penn State Lady Lions
(25-6, 13-3) advanced to the NCAA Second Round with a 85-77 victory
against No. 13 seed UTEP (29-4, 15-1 C-USA) Sunday evening. With the
win, Penn State posts back-to-back 25-win seasons for thefirst time
since 2002-03 and 2003-04. The victory came with a balanced attack that
saw four players reach double figures, led by Maggie Lucas’ (Narberth,
Pa.) 23 points. It is the 16th 20-point performance of the season for
Lucas.
The Lady Lions advance to the second round of the
NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. Penn State is now 14-3 in
NCAA First Round action and28-22 overall in tournament play.
Junior
Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) had a solid all-around game with 21
points to go with five assists and three steals. Bentley reached the
20-point plateau for the ninth time this season. She has also scored at
least 20 points in each of her three career NCAA Tournament games.
Senior Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) also recorded double-digits with 15
points, while junior Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) narrowly missed a
double-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
The
Miners wasted no time taking the lead to start the game going up by
four (6-2) after less than three minutes. Bentley scored a three to
close the gap to one (6-5), but a layup by UTEP had the Miners leading
by three (8-5). Gray scored for the Lady Lions to bring PSU within one
(8-7), but UTEP continued to maintain control. A jumper and a trey by
the Miners gave UTEP its largest lead to that point, 13-7, at the 14:29
mark.
Gray nailed a three, but UTEP answered with a jumper
to stay ahead by five (15-10). UTEP’s Melisa Mendes fouled Bentley who
hit two at the foul line to bring PSU back within three (15-12). The
Lady Lions continued to trail, but never letUTEP’s advantage grow to
more than five points. With less than 10 minutes to go and UTEP
leading, 23-18, sophomore Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) had a
three-pointer bringing Penn State within two (23-21).
Despite
a free throw by UTEP’s Jenzel Nash, back-to-back jumpers by Lucas gave
Penn State its first lead of the half, 25-24, with 7:29 left to play. A
UTEP basket and a successful two-shot trip to the foul line put the
Miners back in the lead, 28-25. A layup by Bentley had the Lions within
one (28-27), but two straight three-pointers by UTEP had Penn State
trailing by its largest margin, 34-27.
Penn State embarked
on a 12-2 run giving the Lady Lions a three-point edge (39-36) with
2:01 remaining in the half. A free throw from Kristine Vitola of UTEP
had the Miners behind by a basket, 39-37. Nash scored on a jumper with
24 second remaining knotting the score at 39-39 to end the half.
The
second half was all Penn State as the Lions took off on a 15-6 run for
a 53-45 lead. UTEP called a timeout, but it failed to slow the Lady
Lions as four points from Bentley and two from Lucas had Penn State up
by game-high 14 points (59-45) with 12:46 left in the game. After a
second Miner timeout, UTEP scored four points off a jumper and a trip
to the foul line as the Lady Lions missed two baskets. Penn State held
on to a double-digit lead, 59-49.
Bentley got Penn State
back on track with a jumper before junior Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.)
hit both shots at the foul line to move the Lions back ahead by 12
(63-51) with 10:44 to play.
Penn State called a timeout at
the 9:22 mark and UTEP went on to score the next seven points to narrow
the gap to five (63-58). Baskets by Bentley and Greene gave Penn State
a nine-point cushion (67-58). During the next three minutes, Penn State
made four trips to the foul line tallying seven points to move back
ahead by double-digits, 74-63.
UTEP used a 6-2 run to come
within seven (76-69) with 2:21 on the clock. However, two successful
shots by Greene at the foul line and three points from junior Marisa
Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) had Penn State ahead by 11 (81-70) with a little
more than a minute to play in the game. Lucas made two trips to the
free throw line sinking all four shots to have Penn State with an 85-75
lead with 38 seconds remaining. UTEP’s Syerra Davis scored one final
basket for the Miners before time ran out.
GAME NOTES: The
Lady Lions improve to 14-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round
games … Penn State earns back-to-back 25-win seasons for the first time
since the 2002-03 and 2003-04 campaigns … Maggie Lucas had her
consecutive free throws made streak stopped at 23 when she missed at
the 5:13 mark of the second half. It ties her career high for
consecutive free throws made, set earlier this year … The Lady Lions
made 14 free throws in a row from the 5:13 mark until the 0:16 mark to
seal the win …Lucas moved into 27th place on Penn State's career
scoring charts (1,149) … Lucas also moved into a tie for sixth place on
Penn State'ssingle-season scoring list (597). She is tied with Tyra
Grant's performanceduring the 2009-10 season … Junior Alex Bentley
surpassed the 1,300-point mark for her career (1,317) … Sophomore Ariel
Edwards returned after missing four games with a leg injury to tally
seven points and four rebounds … Junior Mia Nickson surpassed the
400-rebound mark for her Penn State career.
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