March 5, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - The sixth-seeded Penn State Lady Lions (17-13, 8-10) shot 47.5% (29-61) from the field, but No. 3 seed Iowa (18-12, 10-8) tied the Big Ten Tournament record with 11 three-pointers as the Hawkeyes earned an 82-75 win in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament Friday. Senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) tallied a season-best 32 points en route to becoming the fourth player in program history to surpass the 2,000-point plateau.
Grant, who joins Kelly Mazzante, Susan Robinson and Kahadeejah Herbert in the elite 2,000-point club, also pulled in nine rebounds and two steals. She was 11-for-23 from the field on the game. It was the fourth 30-point performance of Grant's career with three of those games coming against the Hawkeyes. Freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) also reached double figures with 18 tallies on 9-of-15 shooting. She also handed out six assists and had one steal on the afternoon. Freshman guard Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif.) had a career-high seven points.
The Lady Lions got on the board first with a jumper from Grant, but Iowa responded with a three-pointer from Kelly Krei on their first offensive possession. Bentley gave the Lions a 4-3 lead two minutes into the game, but the Hawkeyes converted on a three-point play and a shot from beyond the arc to establish a 9-4 lead at the 17:09 mark. Grant reeled off a personal 5-0 run with a three-point play and a jumper to even the score at 9-9 with 15 minutes remaining.
Iowa pushed ahead again by scoring six of the game's next eight points to take a 15-11 lead with 13 minutes left in the half. The Hawkeyes extended the lead to 21-15 with less than nine minutes to play, but Penn State responded with a 6-0 run thanks to four consecutive points from Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) and a jumper by Studevent to even the score at 21-21 with 7:35 on the clock.
Following a Jaime Printy basket, Grant scored her 11th point of the game to even the score at 23-23. The bucket also made Grant the fourth player in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau for her career. Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) made one of two free throws and Bentley knocked down a jumper in transition to give the Lions a 26-23 lead seven minutes left in the half. After an exchange of scores, the Hawkeyes cut the Penn State lead to one point (28-27) before back-to-back baskets by Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) to make it a 32-27 game with just 43 seconds left in the half. However, Printy drained a three on Iowa's ensuing possession to cut the lead to two points (32-30) at the half.
Grant led all scorers with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds and a steal. Bentley added six points and two assists, while Greene accounted for three points and six rebounds. Printy had 12 points and two assists to pace Iowa, which had more three-point field goals (5) than two-point field goals (4) in the opening half.
Iowa opened the scoring in the second half with a basket by Kachine Alexander, who missed most of the first half with foul trouble, to even the score at 32-32. Bentley responded with a jumper to put the Lions in front, but the Hawkeyes scored 13 of the game's next 15 points to give Iowa a 45-36 lead with 15 minutes left in the game. The lead remained at nine for the next seven minutes until a three-point play by Alexander and a three-pointer by Printy pushed the Iowa lead to a game-high 13 points (68-55) with less than eight minutes to play.
The Lions had some fight left in them as the clicked off an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to seven (68-61) with 6:04 remaining. Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) started the run with a layup, followed by a jumper by Bentley. Grant capped the run with four consecutive free throws. The Hawkeyes responded by scoring five of the game's next seven points to extend the lead back to 10 points (73-63) with less than four minutes left. The lead remained 10 until Grant took the Lions on her shoulders and hit two three-pointers, sandwiched around an Iowa layup to make it a six-point game (78-72). The Hawkeyes made four consecutive free throws to seal the win and Grant capped the scoring in the game with a three-pointer for her fourth career 30-point game.
The Lady Lions will now wait to find out their postseason fate on Selection Monday, March 15.
GAME NOTES: Senior Tyra Grant became the fourth player in school history to hit the 2,000 point milestone, joining Kelly Mazzante, Susan Robinson and Kahadeejah Herbert...Grant finished the game with 32 points, marking the fourth 30-point performance of her career, three of which have come against Iowa...With her effort, Grant passes Tanisha Wright (1,995) for fourth place on Penn State career scoring chart (2,021)...Freshman Gizelle Studevent had a career-high seven points...Iowa hit a Big Ten Tournament record 11 three-pointers.
The Lady Lions hold several camps throughout the summer. There is a Lady Lion Basketball Camp available for girls of all ages, ranging from shooting camp to elite camp. The 2010 Lady Lion Basketball Camp schedule is as follows: Shooting Camp (June 13-15), Elite Camp (June 20-22), Skills Camp (June 20-23), Total Package Team Camp (June 24-26) and Games Galore Team Camp (August 6-8). For more information on Lady Lion Basketball Camps, please visit psusportscamps.com and click on Lady Lion Basketball Camp.
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