Penn State Basketball: Lady Lions Come From Behind, Defeat Michigan State

Click on the photo to see more from Sunday’s game. 

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – With the team off to a sloppy start, Tyra Grant helped keep Penn State in it early.

Nikki Greene helped them slam the door shut.

Led by Grant’s game-high 23 points, the Nittany Lions (13-4, 5-2) defeated No. 20 Michigan State 68-60 on Sunday. The loss was the Spartans’ (11-7, 2-5) third straight.

Trailing 54-53 with just under eight minutes remaining, Greene reeled off seven of the Lions next nine points over a five-minute span as the Lions built a four-point lead. Assisted by a clutch defensive performance, they never trailed again.

“I loved our defensive effort,” Lions head coach Coquese Washington said. “We focus on playing good, solid position defense, but I’m really greedy. I think we can guard better and I think we can be more disciplined and more determined to not have mental lapses.”

The Lions held Michigan State without a field goal for the game’s final 8:16, as well as the final 5:58 of the first half.

At times early in the game, Washington’s squad appeared lost, particularly during the first nine minutes of the game. Michigan State opened with a 7-0 run and built a 21-12 lead before the Lions started clawing back.

Freshman guard Alex Bentley took charge late in the first half, scoring 10 of her 14 points in the opening frame and helping take a lot of pressure off of Grant.

“It’s a big relief for me,” Grant said. “I don’t know when teams are going to realize they can’t just focus in on me. They can deny me all day and Alex [Bentley] is gonna come down and make the shot…or we get it into the post for Nikki [Greene] and Janessa [Wolff] and they can finish.”

While the offense came in spurts, the defense settled in and was able to make a huge impact on the Spartans — particularly 6 foot 9 center Allyssa DeHaan.

DeHaan, typically the Spartans’ leading scorer and a key contributor on defense, was held to five points in 20 minutes of action.

Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant said after the game DeHaan was feeling a bit under the weather, but she still wasn’t taking anything away from the Lions’ effort.

“I think Nikki [Greene] did a nice job on her, but [DeHaan] had some easy shots that she didn’t put down for us which she normally makes,” Merchant said.

DeHaan’s individual struggles were just a microcosm of the Spartans’ collective offensive struggles. Michigan State shot just 34.5 percent from the field.

“We just didn’t make shots,” Merchant said. “We got good flow and good opportunities but the ball just didn’t go.”

Freshman guard Jasmine Thomas led the team with 19 points and junior Kalisha Keane added 14.

With the win, the Lions improved to 2-1 on the season against Top 25 opponents and moved up to second place in the Big Ten. Washington said the team has to understand that the stakes are only going to get higher.

“The more games we win, the bigger the target becomes on our back,” she said.

Even so, Washington is looking forward to the challenge.

“I really enjoy coaching this team,” Washington said. “It’s fun to come to practice, whether we win or lose because of [the players’] effort, their energy. I told them to have fun. When you come out in the [Bryce Jordan Center] and you’ve got a nice crowd and you’re playing well…it’s fun. Enjoy it”