Lady Lions Basketball Downs Texas A&M 66-58

The Penn State Lady Lion basketball team finally put together a complete game, beating Texas A&M 66-58 Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Head coach Coquese Washington was disappointed in the Lady Lions loss at South Dakota State Wednesday evening, saying her team just needed to play two solid halves of basketball to turn things around.

The victory against the No. 20 Aggies is Penn State’s first victory over a ranked opponent this year. The Lady Lions are ranked No. 12.

Against Texas A&M, the Lady Lions jumped out to a 12-0 lead with the Aggies struggling from the floor. The Aggies missed their first 15 shots of the game. But Gary Blair’s team battled back and actually took a 6 point lead late in the first half. Penn State went into the locker room up by 2.

Magie Lucas continued to be impressive, scoring a game high 26 points, with 17 of those coming after the half time break. Lucas made play after play — including some circus shots that kept the Aggie defense frustrated.

Ariel Edwards continues to be a second scoring option for Penn State. She chipped in with 14 and Tori Waldner contributed a career high 11 rebounds against an Aggie front line that has been dominant led by 6’5 center Karla Gilbert. Gilbert was almost a non-factor in the game.

After the contest, assistant coach Fred Chmiel applauded Penn State’s defense and the play of the post players. On a side note, Lucas moved past Tyra Grant into 3rd place on the Lady Lion scoring charts and now trails only Susan Robinson and all-time leading scorer Kelly Mazzante.