Lady Lions Falter Late in Loss to Indiana

O'Rourke becomes eighth player in school history with 500 assists UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 11, 2009 — In a game that featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes, Indiana (11-3, 4-1) used a 13-4 run to end the game and hand the Penn State Lady Lions (7-8, 2-3) an 84-77 loss at the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday afternoon. With an assist on a Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) basket in the first half, Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) became the eighth player in school history and the 22nd player in Big Ten history to reach 500 career assists.   Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) led five players in double figures with 17 points to go along with four rebounds, while O'Rourke added 11 points, four assists and a pair of steals. Freshman Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) posted the second double-digit scoring performance of her career with 11 tallies. Senior Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) and sophomore Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) each turned in 10-point, six-rebound efforts against the Hoosiers and Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) netted a career-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.   The game was evenly matched for the first half of the opening period with the Lady Lions controlling the pace of play. Indiana took its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 9:05 left in the half, but the Lady Lions immediately responded with a jumper by Williams to pull ahead by one. Following an Amber Jackson basket, Grant drained a wide-open three-pointer to put Penn State ahead 17-15 at the eight minute mark and spark a 7-0 run. Trogele added a pair of free throws and a jumper in the paint by Gray completed the run to give the Lady Lions a 21-15 lead with just over seven minutes left in the period.   Indiana climbed within two points (21-19) before a jumper by Monroe and a fastbreak layup by Grant extended the Lady Lion lead to six points (25-19) with 5:25 left in the period. Following an Indiana three-pointer, the Lady Lions used back-to-back layups from Williams and Rashida Mark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to establish a 29-22 lead with 4:23 on the clock. The squads swapped baskets over the next several possessions until Indiana went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 35-35 with 44 seconds left in the half. O'Rourke nabbed a steal and converted it into a layup with 14 seconds remaining, but Jori Davis his a jumper with five seconds on the clock to send the teams into halftime knotted at 37-37.   The Hoosiers used a pair of Davis free throws in the early moments of the second half to establish a 39-37 lead, but a jumper by Trogele on the ensuing Penn State possession leveled the score just one minute in. Three free throws by Indiana gave the Hoosiers lead, but back-to-back three-pointers by Gray and O'Rourke pushed the Lions ahead 45-42 with just over 17 minutes left in the half.   Indiana retook the lead with four-straight tallies and the game remained within four points for the next several minutes until Gray went on a personal 6-0 run with a layup, free throw and three-pointer to give the Lady Lions a 53-51 lead with 12 minutes remaining. PSU added to its lead with a fastbreak layup by Williams on the ensuing Lady Lion possession. The Hoosiers continued to battle and got three consecutive points by Amber Jackson to cut the Lady Lion lead to a single point (55-54) with 10:42 on the clock.   A jumper by Monroe gave the Lady Lions a three-point advantage, but a 5-0 run by Indiana put the Hoosiers up 59-57 with 8:41 left in the game. However, the Lady Lions fought back starting with a Williams layup and followed by a pair of buckets by Monroe to pull ahead 63-59 with 7:33 remaining. The squads swapped free throws on their respective possessions before a three-pointer by Jamie Braun cut the lead to 65-64 with just under seven minutes to play.   After several exchanges, Penn State pulled ahead by four points (71-67) on a Grant scoop shot with 4:36 left in the game. After being fouled in the lane, Braun made the front end of her two-shot foul but the Hoosiers were able to pull down the rebound and found Braun in the corner for a three-pointer to tie the game at 71-71 with 4:22 on the clock. Two free throws by Grant put Penn State up 73-71, that was the last time the Lions would lead as Indiana ended the game on a 13-4 run to post the win.   GAME NOTES: Lady Lions are 24-7 all-time against the Hoosiers, including a 13-2 mark in home games…Indiana has won four of the last five meetings between the teams…Senior Brianne O'Rourke had four assists to become the eighth player in school history and the 22nd player in Big Ten Conference history to have 500 career assists…Junior Meredith Monroe had a career-high eight points…Sophomore forward Janessa Wolff made her first start of the season for the Lady Lions…Freshman Zhaque Gray reached double figures in the scoring column for the second time in her career with 11 points off of the bench.   The Lady Lions hit the road for games at Purdue on Thursday, Jan. 15 and at Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 17 before returning home to face Wisconsin on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. The Wisconsin game will be $1 dog night for those fans in attendance. For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.   The 2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith (formerly known as THINK PINK Day) will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first two Pink Zone events have raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Breast Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone.   —LADY LIONS—