Nov. 21, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (4-0) continued their solid shooting from the field, making 50% (24-57) of their shots from the field and 66.7% (6-9) from three-point range, en route to a dominating 78-48 win over SEC foe South Carolina (2-2) Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. Senior Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) notched her second-straight double-double and the sixth of her career with a personal-best 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) added 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, while freshman Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) chipped in 14 points on 5-fo-8 shooting with two steals. Redshirt sophomore Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points on a 5-for-7 effort from the field.
South Carolina opened the scoring with a three-pointer by Ieasia Walker, but the Lady Lions reeled off 12 consecutive points with a three-pointer by Trogele, a jumper by Bentley, five consecutive points by Lucas and a layup by Nickson to give Penn State a 12-3 lead with 14:36 on the clock. The Gamecocks responded with a pair of baskets to cut the Penn State lead to five points (12-7) with 13:32 left.
After an exchange of baskets, the Lions scored 12 of the game's next 13 points to take a 26-10 lead with less than eight minutes remaining in the half. Penn State would stretch the lead to as many as 19 points, but a three-pointer by Marah Strickland as time ran out in the first period sent the teams into the locker room with the Lions leading 38-22.
Lucas and Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) paced the Lady Lions in the opening frame with eight points each, while Trogele and Bentley added six tallies each. Trogele led all rebounders with six boards. Penn State shot 44.8% (13-29) from the field, while holding the Gamecocks to just 23.5% (8-34) from the floor.
The teams swapped scores early in the second half before Penn State scored 10 consecutive points, including four tallies by Nickson, to push their lead to 25 points (50-25) with 15:20 remaining in the game. The lead remained at 25 until back-to-back baskets by Trogele and Nickson gave the Lions a 29-point lead (58-29) with less than 10 minutes to play. The Gamecocks would close within 23 with 3:07 left, but Penn State scored seven of the game's next eight points to push the lead back to 29 at 75-46 with 1:34 on the clock. After a South Carolina basket, Lucas drained a deep three-pointer to give the Lions a 30-point win.
GAME NOTES: Senior guard/forward Julia Trogele tallied her second consecutive double-double and the sixth of her career with a personal-best 19 points and 10 rebounds ... The Lady Lions are 4-0 for the first time since 2006-07 ... Penn State is now 5-4 all-time against South Carolina ... The Lady Lions improve to 21-27 all-time against SEC teams ... With four rebounds, Alex Bentley eclipsed the 100-rebound mark for her career ... Junior Zhaque Gray topped 300 points for her, tallying eight points tonight.
The Lady Lions will travel to Riviera Maya, Mexico for the Caribbean Challenge. Penn State will face Utah on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern), Wisconsin-Green Bay on Friday at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) and Hartford on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (Eastern). All four teams in the tournament reached the postseason last year. Upon returning from Mexico, the Lady Lions will travel to Boston College of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Thurs., Dec. 2 before returning home to meet Texas Tech in the inaugural Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. 2010-11 Lady Lion Basketball Single-game tickets are available by calling 814-863-1000 or 800-NITTANY. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, including one for the Coaches vs. Cancer game and one for the Pink Zone game, that can be redeemed for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets in any combination.
The 2011 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 27 at noon as the Lady Lions take on Northwestern in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Last year, the Lady Lions donated more than $80,000 for breast cancer causes. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone. The WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pinkzoneatpennstate.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.