A charmed season, the kind not seen in Happy Valley since the days when Rene Portland roamed the sidelines, continued Tuesday night, when Penn State advanced to its first Sweet 16 in eight years.
Awaiting the No. 4 seed Lady Lions after their 90-80 victory against No. 5 LSU is top-seed Connecticut, the program perhaps most identifiable with the sport of women’s basketball because of its NCAA record (men or women) 90-game winning streak and Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma.
Let that also serve as a reminder of where fifth-year coach Coquese Washington has returned the Penn State program.
Penn State last made a Sweet 16 in 2003-04, when it advanced to the Elite Elight and lost to Connecticut. The Lady Lions will face UConn in a regional semifinal at 4:34 p.m. Sunday in Kingston, R.I.
As for Tuesday’s tussle with the Tigers, Penn State started the game on a 9-0 run through the first three minutes, but moments later, junior point guard Alex Bentley picked up her second foul, relegating her to the bench until the late stages of the first half.
Despite the absence of Bentley, who entered the game averaging 22 points in three NCAA Tournament games, sophomore guard Maggie Lucas scored 19 first-half points, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
She finished with a game-high 30 points.
Still, LSU led, 37-36 at the half.
LSU locked in on Lucas in the second half, but it was the sophomore forward Ariel Edwards who provided a huge lift, finishing with 15 points.
Five Lady Lions scored in double figures.
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