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Lucas’ Late Heroics Lead No. 11/12 Lady Lions Past South Carolina, 55-50
Lucas scores game-best 18 points, including the final six of the contest
COLUMBIA,
S.C. — The #11/12 Penn State Lady Lions (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) used a 13-0
run, including the final six tallies coming from MaggieLucas (Narberth,
Pa.), over the final 5:47 to earn a 55-50 come-from-behind win at South
Carolina (3-1) Sunday. Lucas nailed a jumper with 1:22 left togive the
Lady Lions the lead and clinched the win with a layup, followed by a
pair of free throws in the final 22 seconds.
Lucas
finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and dished out a pair of
assists. Sophomore center Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.) had by far her
best career performance with six points to go along with personal bests
of 15 rebounds and seven blocks. Her seven rejections are tied for
third-most in school history.
Sophomore Ariel Edwards
(Elmont, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 10 points via a 5-for-7
shooting performance and snared seven rebounds. Zhaque Gray (Chicago,
Ill.) and Alex Bentley(Indianapolis, Ind.) each added six points in the
win. The Lady Lions were held without a three-point field goal for the
first time since Jan. 7, 2007 (vs.Michigan).
Both teams
came out of the locker room ready to fire as Penn State scored on
itsfirst four possessions, including a pair of buckets by Edwards, to
take an 8-5 lead with 17:38 remaining. The Gamecocks responded with a
9-2 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a 14-10 lead with
15 minutes to play in the opening half.
East’s baby hook
shot with 12:04 remaining snapped a four-minute scoreless drought and
start a 6-0 run for the Lady Lions. Lucas made a pair of free throws
and East capped the run with another baby hook shot to make it a 16-14
lead for Penn State. However, the Gamecocks would score the game’s next
six points to take a 20-16 lead as the Lady Lions were in the midst of
a nearly seven minute scoreless drought.
Lucas got the
Lions back on the board with a layup to kick-start a 10-0 run that also
featured a pair of free throws from Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.),
a layup by Gray and a jumper by Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) to give
the Lady Lions a 26-20 lead with 49 seconds left. The Gamecocks capped
the scoring with a layup on the ensuing possession to send the teams
into the break with Penn State leading 26-22.
Lucas led
all scorers with eight points, while East had a solid opening half with
six points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. The Lady Lions shot
an even 50% (11-22) from the field and held the Gamecocks to just 23.7%
(9-38).
South Carolina opened the scoring in the second
half with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to take a 27-26
lead just over a minute in, but the Lady Lionresponded with
back-to-back jumpers and two free throws from Gray to regain the lead
at 32-27 with 17 minutes remaining. After an exchange of scores, the
Gamecocks reeled off a 13-2 run to establish a 42-36 lead with 10
minutes remaining.
The lead held steady until the Lady
Lions turned up the defense and scored the game’s next seven points to
close within a point at 50-49 with 2:51 remaining. Lucas then gave the
Lady Lions the lead with a jumper with 1:22 left and then made it a
three-point game with a layup with 22 seconds left. On the ensuing
South Carolina possession, Lucas stole a pass and was fouled and
proceeded to salt the win away with a pair of free throws.
GAME
NOTES: The Lady Lions improve to 6-4 all-time against South Carolina …
The Lady Lions were held without a three-point field goal for the first
time since Jan. 7, 2007 (vs. Michigan) … Talia East rejected a
career-high seven shots, which ties her for the third-highest
single-game total in school history … East has blocked at least two
shots in three of the first four games this season … East also hauled
in a career-high 15 rebounds … After missing the first three games of
the season due to concussion-like symptoms, Marisa Wolfe returned to
the line up to tally four points on 2-of-3 shooting.
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