Lady Lions Shut Down the Hokies

Story posted December 7, 2011 in CommRadio, Sports by Breanna Jacobs

In only the second meeting between the Penn State and Virginia Tech women’s basketball teams, the Lady Lions (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated the Hokies (2-6, 0-0 ACC) 66-28 Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The 17th-ranked Lady Lions started off slow offensively in the first half, making only 11 of 28 attempted field goals and 1 of 6 attempted three-point shots.

Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas scored the first points of the game, sinking a three point shot with over 18 minutes left in the game. Lucas led the Lady Lions in scoring during the first half. She scored nine total points.

Junior guard Alex Bentley also stood out in the first half of the game. With a little over two minutes left in the first half, Bentley registered a steal after a turnover from Virgina Tech guard Aerial Wilson. Bentley drove the lane, and put the ball in for a lay-up. Bentley became the 33rd player in Penn State history, and the 15th junior, to score 1,000 career points.

“My teammates made it easy for me to score,” said Bentley. “I just give all the props to them.”

“It’s a testament to her work ethic and her focus and her impact on this program,” said Penn State head coach Coquese Washington in regard to the milestone Bentley reached.

Although the Lady Lions made some positive offensive plays, the focus rested on the defense.

“To start the game, it wasn’t at our usual pace,” said Washington. “I think they might have been really focused defensively.”

Against the Hokies, Washington had the Lady Lions playing more man-to-man defense, rather than the zone defense they typically play. Playing man-to-man became an asset for the Lady Lions during the game; it led them to better cover Virgina Tech’s guards, who are the biggest contributors to the offense.

“Because they’ve been playing so much zone the last few games, I think, you know, playing a lot of man-to-man, it wears on you, so I think there was a little bit of fatigue early in the game,” Washington said.

The Lady Lions, however, came out in the second half and jump started the offense, scoring 39 points while Virginia Tech only scored 13. The Lady Lions were once again led by Lucas, who scored 13 points in the second half.

Wilson led the Hokies in scoring with nine points, but Virginia Tech could not hold onto the ball, turning it over to the Lady Lions many times. They also struggled with fouls; they registered five fouls in less than three minutes.

“We have limitations right now, so we’re going to have trouble scoring, particularly if our guards struggle the way they did tonight,” said head coach Dennis Wolff.

“I think the Penn State defense wore them down,” said Wolff.

With the win, the Lady Lions’ all-time record against ACC opponents goes to 35-25.

The Lady Lions will host the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center at 2 p.m. Tune into ComRadio for complete coverage of the game.

Breanna Jacobs is a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact her, e-mail: byj5032@psu.edu.