Dec. 13, 2007
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led four players in double figures as the Lady Lions (8-3) used a late-game surge to earn an 84-77 victory over Mississippi (4-4) Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State shot 50.9% (29-57) from the field and 90.5% (19-21) from the free throw line in the victory.
Grant had a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots, while Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) was 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe on the way to 13 points and six boards. Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) also reached double figures with 18 points and six rebounds and Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 14 points and seven assists.
It was an evenly matched game in the early going with neither team establishing a lead of more than four points. Grant had the hot hand early, scoring nine of Penn State's first 19 points as the two teams were knotted at 19-19 at the midway point of the first period. Following a Meggan Quinn (Red Lion, Pa.) three-pointer, the Rebels went on an 8-2 run to jump out to a three-point lead (27-24) with 6:30 to play in the half.
Gissendanner knocked down a three-pointer to start an 8-0 Lady Lion run, which included a three-pointer by Grant and a jumper by Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.), to put the Blue & White on top by five points (32-27) with just over four minutes left in the half. The teams swapped baskets over the final four minutes until Shantell Black made a hanging lay-up in the lane with four seconds left to send the teams to the locker room with Penn State leading 38-36.
Grant finished the first half with 14 points as the Lady Lions shot 48.5% (16-33) from the field and 45.5% (5-11) from three-point range. Gissendanner, Quinn and Wolff each had five points apiece.
The Rebels erased their halftime deficit and took a one-point lead (42-41) in the first four minutes of the second half, but after the first media timeout, Quinn knocked down her second three-pointer of the game to put the Lady Lions ahead by two. A pair of Gissendanner free throws extended the lead to four points (46-42) with just over 15 minutes remaining before Mississippi scored five consecutive points to go ahead by one point at 49-48 with 13:40 on the clock.
Gissendanner returned Penn State to the lead at 50-49 with a jumper at the top of the key off of a pass from Grant with 12:17 remaining. The Gissendanner basket opened an 11-2 Lady Lion run, which included lay-up by Wolff, an acrobatic old-fashioned three-point play by O'Rourke, two free throws by Grant and a lay-up by Wolff, to move the Blue and White ahead by an eight-point margin (59-51) with just over 10 minutes to go in the game.
A Grant lay-up was sandwiched between a pair of Ole Miss three-pointers cut PSU's lead to just four points with nine minutes left. Grant added another lay-up, but the Rebels responded with a lay-up off of an offensive rebound to stay within four tallies. However, the Lady Lions got a three-point play from Gissendanner and a crowd-pleasing three-pointer from Grant to establish a game-high 10-point lead (69-59) with 7:27 on the clock.
Ole Miss continued to fight and went on an 8-2 run to pull back within four points at 71-67 with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Wolff made a pair of free throws and came back with a lay-up following a three-pointer by Bianca Thomas to make it a 75-70 game with 3:03 on the clock. The teams exchanged baskets, but a three-pointer by Carla Bartee brought the Rebels within two points (77-75) with two minutes left. The Lady Lions sealed win with an O'Rourke jumper and five free throws down the stretch.
The Lady Lions finish its non-conference schedule at Bucknell on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m., before taking 13 days off for final exams and the holiday season. Penn State opens the 2007-08 Big Ten schedule at Iowa on Dec. 28.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center box office, calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com. The second annual THINK PINK Day is slated for Sunday, Feb. 10 versus Iowa at noon. For more information on THINK PINK Day, visit Penn State's official THINK PINK website at www.gopsusports.com/thinkpink.
GAME NOTES: Meggan Quinn scored a career high eight points and made a career high two three-pointers...Tyra Grant had a career high six assists and scored 24 points, marking her second 20 point game of the season, which also marked the ninth of her career...Tyra Grant recorded a career high three blocks...Penn State is 4-0 when scoring 80 or more points this season.