Penn State Stays Undefeated with Dominant Win over Bryant

Story posted November 18, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Patrick McCaw

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Lady Lions never looked back as they trampled over the Bryant Bulldogs. The Lady Lions have now won their fourth consecutive game at home.

The game started out sloppy on both sides, as the first minute and a half would be scoreless. Penn State would be the first team to strike as Alexa Williamson hit a mid range jumper to ignite the Lady Lions offense.

Williamson and the Lady Lions started to heat up mid-way through the first quarter going on a 24-5 run. This would be a sight to get used to going forward in this matchup. Williamson ended up with a season high 20 points.

Things would only become harder throughout the game for the Bulldogs as the Lady Lions defense continued with their aggressive full court press despite the big lead.

Penn State’s 2-3 zone defense alongside the full court press forced 10 turnovers in the second quarter alone which in turn set up fastbreaks for the blue and white.

Going into halftime, the Lady Lions were clicking in all categories as they gained a 51-18 lead. We haven't seen Penn State play with a large lead like this yet. Many were wondering if they would continue to play aggressively or if they let would their foot off of the gas.

In the second half the Bryant Bulldogs continued to struggle against the Lady Lions. Penn State continued with their previous defensive scheme which seemed to be very overwhelming to the mid-major school.

In the third quarter Penn State forced another 10 turnovers with seven of those being steals. As impressive as the Lady Lions offense was, their defense came to play only giving up three points in the third quarter.

Alexa Williamson and the Lady Lions never took their foot off the pedal in this game, coming away with a 96-33 victory.

The Bryant Bulldogs (2-2) got off to a much better start than last year when they started 0-5, but have failed to gain any sort of momentum in their last two games against Pittsburgh and Penn State. Will the Bulldogs be able to build upon their first two wins?

As for Penn State, the continued story of the season so far is their dominant defensive play. None of their opponents have been able to successfully navigate the full court press alongside the size and length of the Lady Lion defenders.

One goal set by Carolyn Kieger was to limit the sloppiness and turnovers. They did just that as they recorded the least amount of turnovers this season with 17 on the night.

Penn State dominated Butler to improve to 4-0 on the season. But the Lady Lions will face their first big test on Monday when they take on the undefeated Syracuse Orange. If they are able to come away with a victory, it will give this team so much confidence heading into Big Ten play.

Patrick McCaw is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email prm5306@psu.edu