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No. 16/15 Lady Lions Tops the No. 14/13 Tarheels in BigTen/ACC Challenge, 103-84
Bentley posts first career double-double with 15 points and 15 assists
UNIVERSITY
PARK, PA.— The #16/15 Penn State Lady Lions (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
connected on a school-record 14 three-pointers on the way to a 103-84
victory over #14/13 North Carolina Tarheels (5-1, 0-0 ACC) in the Big
Ten/ACC Challenge Wednesday at the BryceJordan Center. This is the
second game in a row that Penn State scored at least 100 points after a
103-65 win at Nevada (11/26). The last time the Lady Lions scored 100
points in back-to-back games was in 1993 when the Lady Lions defeated
Nebraska, 102-66, on Jan. 2 and Illinois, 101-71, on Jan. 7. Penn State
defeats a ranked opponent for the first time since topping No. 14/13
Iowa (68-59) on Dec. 30, 2010.
The 14 three-pointers by
the Lady Lions surpass the previous school record of 13 triples in a
game, accomplished twice (at Dayton, 11/21/10; vs. St.
Francis(12/2/99). PSU also tied for the most three-pointers by a North
Carolina opponent. Penn State, which shot 48.7% from the field, had 26
assists on 38baskets.
All five starters reached double
figures, led by senior guard Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) who was
6-for-10 from the long range en route to 25 points to go along with a
career-high six assists. Junior guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.)
notched her first career double-double with 15 points and a
personal-best 15 assists. The 15 assists by Bentley are tied for 11th
on PSU’s single-game list.
Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.)
added 21 points, while Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) chipped in 13
points and career highs of eight rebounds and three assists. Nikki
Greene (Diboll, Texas) also reached double figures with 13 points, six
rebounds and three blocked shots.
The game started with a
great pace as neither team led by more than four points in the opening
eight minutes until a 6-0 run by the Lady Lions gave Penn State a 25-20
margin. Greene, Lucas and Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) all scored for
Penn State in the run. The Tarheels responded, going on a 14-6 run to
take a 34-29 lead with 7:49 to play in the half.
Back-to-back
scores by Bentley and a layup by Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.) got the
Lady Lions within a single point (34-33) before North Carolina went on
a 6-3 spurt to push the lead back to four (40-36) with 5:42 to play.
Penn State fought right back starting with a Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.)
basket and five consecutive points by Lucas to take a 43-40 lead. After
the Tarheels scored five of the next eight points, Bentley connected on
a pair of free throws and Lucas nailed her third three-pointer of the
game to make it a 51-45 advantage for the Lady Lions with 3:23 on the
clock. The squads exchanged scores for the remainder of the period with
Gray closing out the scoring with a three-pointer to give the Lady
Lions a 58-51 lead at the break.
Lucas led all scorers
with 16 points, including four three-pointers, and a pair of rebounds.
Bentley added 13 points, seven assists and a pair of steals, while Gray
added 11 points and four helpers. Both teams shot well from the field
with the Lady Lions connecting on 47.8% (22-46) of their shots and UNC
making 44.7% (17-38) of their attempts. Penn State turned the ball over
just one time in the first 20 minutes while forcing 13 Tarheel
turnovers. Laura Broomfield notched a double-double in the first half
with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Lucas picked up her fourth
foul of the game at the 19:04 mark of the second half and was relegated
to the bench, but the teams continued to exchange scores until a
three-pointer by Edwards and a layup by Waldner made it a 12-point game
(67-55) with 15 minutes left. The Lady Lions would push the lead to 13
(70-57) on aGray three-pointer just a minute later, but the Tarheels
fought back with a 9-0 run to close within four at 70-66 with 11:32
remaining in the game.
Penn State responded with a 9-0 run
of their own that featured five points by Gray and three points each
from Greene and Wolfe to take an 84-66 lead with 7:35remaining. The
Tarheels would cut it to 12 in the final seven minutes, but that was as
close as North Carolina would get. The Lady lions scored the game’s
final four points for the 19-point win.
GAME NOTES: This
is the second game in a row that Penn State scored at least 100 points,
having defeated Nevada on Nov. 26, 103-65. The last time the Lady Lions
scored 100 points in back-to-back games was in 1993 when the Lady Lions
defeated Nebraska, 102-66, on Jan. 2 and Illinois, 101-71, on Jan. 7 …
The 14 three-pointers by the Lady Lions are a school record, topping
the previous mark of 13, accomplished twice (at Dayton, 11/21/10; vs.
St. Francis (12/2/99) … The 14 threes by PSU are tied for the most for
a North Carolina opponent … Penn State defeats a ranked opponent for
the first time since topping No. 14/13 Iowa (68-59) on Dec. 30, 2010 …
The Lady Lions are now 3-2 all-time vs. North Carolina … Penn State
improved its record to 2-3 in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games … The Lady
Lions snapped their three-game losing streak in the Big Ten/ACC
Challenge … The Lady Lions outscored North Carolina 22-15 with Maggie
Lucas on the bench for seven of the first eight minutes of the second
half with fourfouls … The Lady Lions scored 58 points in the first
half, marking the first time the Lions scored more than 55 points in a
half since scoring 55 in thesecond half vs. Boston College on Dec. 2,
2010 … Junior Alex Bentley posted the first double-double of her career
with 15 points and 15 assists … Bentley’s 15 assist are a career high
and are tied for 11th on Penn State’s single-game chart … Junior Marisa
Wolfe made the fourth three-pointer of her career ... Senior Zhaque
Gray led the team with 25 points, two shy of her career-high … Five
Lady Lions posted double-digit points, including Gray (25), Lucas (21),
Bentley (15), sophomore Ariel Edwards (13) and junior Nikki Greene
(13), for the first time since having had five players with double
digit points was on Feb. 3, 2011 vs. Michigan . . Gray posted a
career-high six assists … Edwards had a career-best three assists and
tied her career-high in rebounds with eight, which was a team-best …
Freshman post Tori Waldner had a career-high six points and two blocks.
The
Lady Lions travel to Texas Tech in the return game of the Big 12/Big
Ten Challenge Saturday. Last season, Penn State earned a 76-68 win at
home over the Red Raiders. The Lady Lions are 3-2 all-time against TTU
with wins in the last two games. PSU dropped a 79-65 decision in the
only meeting in Lubbock on Dec. 21, 2004. Penn State opens a three-game
homestand against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
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