March 3, 2012
Penn State Quotes (3/3/12) | Purdue Quotes (3/3/12) | Postgame Notes (3/3/12)
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INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) scored five points in 11 seconds to tie the game at 66-66, but Brittany Rayburn connected on a layup with 1.6 seconds left to lift No. 4 seed Purdue (23-8, 11-5) to a 68-66 win over the top-seeded Penn State Lady Lions (24-6, 13-3). The Lady Lions will now wait to find out their NCAA Tournament fate in the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m.
Junior guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Lady Lions with 22 points to go along with three assists and three steals. Greene also reached double figures with 12 points and had three rebounds and two blocks. Junior Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.) narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. She also had a career-high three blocks and three steals.
The Lady Lions were outrebounded, 54-32, and gave up 19 offensive rebounds. The typically solid Penn State defense also allowed Purdue to shoot 44.1% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range.
The squads exchanged scores early as Purdue took a 5-4 lead in the first three minutes, but the Boilers then put together a 9-2 run to take a 14-6 lead with 12:22 on the clock. The Lady Lions responded with an 8-2 spurt to close within two (16-14) with 8:37 left. However, on the ensuing possession, the Boilers converted a three-point play to push the lead back to five (19-14).
The Lady Lions responded with back-to-back scores by Talia East (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Bentley to once again close the gap to one (19-18) with 8:14 remaining. Purdue scored the game's next five points to extend the lead to six, but Bentley went on a personal 8-2 run to tie the game at 26-26 with 5:15 on the clock. Purdue once again surged ahead with a 7-2 run to take a 33-28 lead with 3:17 left, but the Lions closed the half by scoring six of the last eight points to go into the locker room down by just one (35-34).
Bentley led all scorers in the first half with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) added seven points. The Lady Lions were outrebounded 28-15 and gave up 13 offensive boards. Penn State also struggled from long range in the opening frame, connecting on just 14.3% (1-7) of their shots from long range.
Purdue came out strong in the second half with a 7-2 run as the Lady Lions started the frame 1-for-9 from the field. With the Boilers leading 42-36, Bentley knocked down a three-pointer and Greene connected on a layup off a great pass from Nickson to close within one (42-41) with less than 15 minutes left. Greene had a chance to give the Lions the lead, but missed a pair of free throws. The Boilers scored the game's next five points to once again extend the lead to six (47-41), but Penn State responded with back-to-back scores by Lucas and Bentley to pull within two (47-45) with 10 minutes to play.
Following a Boilermaker basket, Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) connected on a three-pointer to get PSU within one, but Purdue responded with a three of its own by Moses. The Lady Lions continued to fight as Gray hit her second-straight three to close the gap to one again. After a defensive stop, Greene connected on a pair of free throws to give Penn State its first lead (53-52) at the 7:50 mark. However, the lead was short-lived as Moses hit another three-pointer to give the Boilers the lead and start a 7-1 run to put Purdue ahead (59-54) with 4:55 on the clock.
The squads exchanged scores until a three-point play by Nickson closed the gap to one (62-61) with 3:13 left, but Rayburn responded for the Boilers with a bucket to push the lead back to three (64-61) with three minutes to play. Neither team would score for the next two minutes. After Gray missed a three-pointer to tie the game, Rayburn went to the line and made it a five-point lead for the Boilers (66-61) with 43 seconds left, which saw Bentley foul out.
On the ensuing Penn State possession, Greene converted on a three-point play to close the gap to two. Moses lost the inbounds pass out of bounds, giving the Lady Lions the ball back. With Lucas running point, she found Greene as the defense collapsed for the layup with 20 seconds left. Following a Purdue timeout, Rayburn drove the baseline for the layup. Gray's three-quarter court attempt fell well short as the Lady Lions were eliminated from the tourney.
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