Penn State women’s basketball (10-6, 1-2 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak with by gutting out a 77-74 win over Indiana (7-9, 0-3 Big Ten) on Wednesday night in the Bryce Jordan Center .
Redshirt sophomore guard Amari Carter, who finished with a career-high 26 points, dished out the game-winning assist to Siyeh Frazier with 15 seconds to go to push the Lady Lions past the Hoosiers.
How It Happened
A high scoring first quarter saw both team trade blows early on. Carter made her presence known, scoring 15 points in the first with a trio of three pointers that helped push Penn State to a 26-22 lead by the end of the quarter.
Forward Amanda Cahill and guard Tyra Buss were the only Hoosiers to score in the double digits on the night, but both would end up over 20 and provided Carter and the rest of the Lady Lions a tough time on defense. Cahill finished with a double-double, not only tormenting the Penn State in the post but also going 2-5 from three, spreading the floor and allowing Buss to attack the basket relentlessly. Buss would finish with 27 and go 10-12 from the free throw line.
In the second quarter, some of Penn State’s other weapons came alive. Alisia Smith has taken over as the go-to freshmen off the bench, getting 10 points and seven boards and providing much needed inside play. Teniya Page, Jaida Travascio-Green, and Frazier would all score over 10 as well, helping keep a balanced attack going on all fronts. Penn State kept on rolling, making it to the final period of play with a 60-50 lead thanks to a 10-0 run to finish off the third quarter.
Buss and Cahill continued to be problems for the Lady Lion defense, with continued attention on them opening up some opportunities for other Hoosiers to score on occasion. While Indiana and Penn State remained close in field goal and three point percentages, and rebounds, Indiana had more success at the charity stripe than Penn State.
Though Indiana gave up 26 fouls to the Lady Lions’ 18, Penn State shot 16-24 from the line to Indiana’s 16-19. This, plus some bad turnovers, allowed Indiana to go on a 21-6 run and tie the game with 22 seconds left. But some late turnovers from Indiana, which had been even more sloppy with the ball than Penn State, and some clutch buckets helped right the ship for the Lady Lions. A Frazier layup and steal plus some free throws from Page iced it for the Lady Lions, 77-74.
Player of the Game
Amari Carter | Guard | Redshirt Sophomore
The D.C. native went off against the Hoosiers, powering her team to victory with those 26 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals.
What’s Next
The Lady Lions head out on the road once more, this time to New Jersey to take on a 15-2 Rutgers team that is also 3-0 in conference play. The game will tipoff at 4:30 on Saturday.
