Penn State’s seed for next month’s conference tournament will largely come down to back-to-back games against No. 16 Purdue and No. 10 Ohio State.
The No. 18 Lady Lions (19-5, 9-3 Big Ten) stayed just one game behind conference leader Purdue in the loss column with Thursday night’s 69-54 victory against Wisconsin at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Only a road trip to Northwestern on Sunday separates the Lady Lions from that crucial two-game stretch, which will have the March implications to match the postseason feel.
Thursday against the Badgers?
Penn State led from start to finish but saw its 19-point second-half lead shrink to eight with 11:54 remaining. It recovered to put the game away with its size down low and speed in the open court, just as it had to start the game on an 8-0 run and lead, 41-26, at the half.
Four players reached double figures: sophomore guard Maggie Lucas (16), sophomore forward Ariel Edwards (14), junior guard Alex Bentley (14) and senior forward Mia Nickson (11).
Lucas was presented with a ball before tip to honor her for her 1,000th point reached Sunday at Minnesota. Lucas became the third sophomore in program history to reach the milestone, and she is believed to be the 11th fastest player to reach the mark in Big Ten history.
But there is other conference history Lucas wants to make, starting with the team’s first Big Ten regular season championship since 2003-04 and the tournament’s top seed that comes with it.
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