Jan. 3, 2016
| 85 | 98 |
| Williams Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. | Attn: 3,792 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Quotes | Notes |
| VIDEO: Game Highlights |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -The slow start didn't help the Penn State women's basketball team, as the Lady Lions dropped a 98-85 contest to Minnesota on Sunday (January 3) inside Williams Arena. Penn State trimmed the lead to two points late in the third quarter, but the Gophers responded on their home floor to hold off the Lady Lions' rally.
The Golden Gophers (8-4, 0-1 B1G) outlasted multiple rallies from the Lady Lions (6-6, 1-0 B1G) to claim the victory, asLindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) made seven three pointers on her way to her first career 30-point game.
Spann connected on 7-of-11 three-pointers and was 10-of-18 overall from the field to end the afternoon with a career-high 30 points. It was the first 30-point game of her career and the first 30-point game for a Lady Lion sinceMaggie Lucas had 32 points since at Indiana on Feb. 13, 2014. The seven three pointers are also the most since Lucas netted eight triples March 9, 2013.
Four player reached double-figures for the eighth time this season, as Spann led the way with 30 30, followed by 16 fromTeniya Page(Chicago, Ill.), 13 byBrianna Banks(Newnan, Ga.) and 10 fromPeyton Whitted(Suwanee, Ga.).
Carlie Wagner led all scorers with 32 points, while Rachel Banham (20) and Jessie Edwards (22) also reached the 20-point mark for the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the early going of the first quarter and led 16-3 after Wagner drained three straight shots from three-point range and Bailey knocked down a triple with 7:12 left in the quarter. Penn State outscored the Gophers, 19-10, over the final seven minutes of the frame - including 11 points from Spann - to head to the first break trailing, 26-22.
A mirror image of the opening quarter occurred during the second 10 minutes, with Minnesota owning the early part of the quarter and Penn State closing strong. The Gophers opened on an 11-5 spurt to take a 37-27 edge with 5:52 to play, but Penn State outscored Minnesota by five (15-10) and ended the half trailing by just six at 47-41.
The Minnesota lead hovered between five and seven points for most the third quarter, before a 7-2 run closed that gap to just two points with 2:00 to play in frame. A Banks three-pointer, two free throws from Mitchell and a layup byAshanti Thomas(Lexington, Ky.) made it 63-61. Banham answered with five straight points - a three pointer as the shot clock expired and a two free throws - to make it 68-61 with 24 seconds to play. Thomas' jumper and two Whitted free throws made it 68-65 with eight second to play in the stanza. Wagner closed the third with a layup at the buzzer to make it 70-65 heading into the final stanza.
Seven straight Gopher points to start the final 10 minutes pushed the lead back to 12 points. After the opening spurt, Spann outscored the Minnesota team, 12-10, over the next three minutes to make it 85-75 with under five minutes to play. The two teams traded points down the stretch to account for the final margin of 98-85.
The Lady Lions return home to host Michigan State on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans who cannot make it can catch it live on the BTN Plus or on the airwaves of the Penn State Sports Network.
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