Postgame Quotes: Head Coach Carolyn Kieger | Senior Siyeh Frazier
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team put up a tough fight against Big Ten-leading Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights spent the final 30 seconds of the game on a 7-3 run to secure a 62-57 victory Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Senior Siyeh Frazier led three Lady Lions in double figures with 14 points. Junior Kamaria McDaniel scored 11, while classmate Alisia Smith added 10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State got out to a quick 6-2 lead as the Lady Lion defense held Rutgers to just 1-for-9 from the field through the first five minutes of play. Rutgers scored the next 10 points as Penn State went cold from the field, but a three-pointer from freshman Anna Camden and a McDaniel jumper helped PSU pull within 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.
- Penn State struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the second quarter, starting just 3-for-10 from the field. The Lady Lion defense kept Rutgers in check before Camden drilled an off-balance, buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the half and pull PSU within 29-23.
- Rutgers pulled ahead by 10 at 33-23 two minutes into the second half, but four points from Smith sparked a 10-2 PSU stretch over the next 3:06 to narrow the deficit to 35-33 with 4:27 left in the third quarter.
- Ten points from Rutgers' Jordan Wallace then fueled a 12-3 Scarlet Knights streak in a 3:30 span. Marisa hit a pair of free throws to end the term, but Rutgers took a 47-38 lead into the final quarter.
- Penn State heated up in the fourth quarter, spending the first six minutes on a 12-4 tear. Frazier scored six during the stretch and Marisa added four as the Lady Lions willed their way back within one at 51-50 with 4:13 left on the clock
- The Lady Lions stayed within one at 55-54 at the 51 second mark after a Frazier jumper. Rutgers' Arella Guirantes hit a jumper with 24 seconds to play to give the Scarlet Knights a three-point cushion. Penn State missed its next shot before Guirantes added two free throws to give Rutgers a 59-54 edge with 16 seconds to play.
- Camden banked in a three-pointer on Penn State's next trip down the floor to put the score at 59-57 with 6.7 seconds left on the clock. Rutgers Noga Peleg made it 61-57 with four seconds to play and Penn State wasn't able to convert on its final chance down the floor. The Scarlet Knights added one free throw in the final second to secure the 62-57 win.
KEY NOTES
- Penn State's defense held Rutgers to their second-lowest FG pct. in a game against a Big Ten team this season. (37.5 percent)
- Rutgers came into today's game with the Big Ten's stingiest defense. The Scarlet Knights have allowed an average of just 52.9 points per game. Penn State scored 57.
- Penn State held the Big Ten's leading scorer in Arella Guirantes to 10 points, her lowest-scoring effort of the season. She entered the game averaging 19.7 points per game.
- McDaniel has now scored in double figures in 16 of 17 games this season.
- Frazier notched her 12th double-digit scoring effort of the year, while Smith recorded her sixth.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Carolyn Kieger
- "We talked in the locker room about how being that close doesn't cut it. We're getting there, we're getting better, but at the end of the day we have to approach these games with some confidence that we can get the W."
- "I'm proud of the progress we've made this year, but now we have to expect to win, and not play to not lose. We have to come in the game ready to take some of these W's because we can play. Rutgers is at the top of the league and I thought we played them pretty well on the defensive end, but we have to have a little bit more confidence and a little bit more grit and come away with some big plays at the end."
- Full Kieger transcript
UP NEXT
- Penn State hits the road against this weekend to take on Northwestern Sunday afternoon.
- Tipoff from Evanston, Ill. is set for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.