Ground Report

release: http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/122814aab.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lady Lions Succumb to No. 23/20 Iowa in Big Ten Opener

Spann posts fourth career 20-point game with 22 tallies

IOWA CITY, Iowa; December 28, 2014 – The Penn State Lady Lions (3-9, 0-1) were plagued by 24 turnovers and shot just 31.6 percent from the field in a 77-52 loss at #23/20 Iowa (10-2, 1-0) to open Big Ten play.

Sophomore Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) posted her fourth 20-point performance in the last five games with 22 tallies to lead the Blue and White. She also filled the stats sheet with five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Junior Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) had nine points on a 4-for-5 shooting effort, while sophomore Alex Harris (Lorain, Ohio) tied her career high with 11 rebounds. Harris also had four points and a steal. Senior Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) accounted for seven points and four rebounds.

The Hawkeyes came out firing on all cylinders as they established a 16-1 lead in the first 6:12 of the game. Ally Disterhoft led the charge for Iowa with seven points, while Agee had the lone point for the Lady Lions in the game’s opening moments.

Sierra Moore (Hanover, Pa.) got the Penn State offense going with a layup and on the ensuing Iowa possession, Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) stole the ball and went the length of the floor for the layup. The Lady Lions continued to roll with a layup from Agee and a pair of free throws from Spann to complete the 8-0 run and make it a 16-9 game with just under 11 minutes remaining.

The Hawkeyes scored four of the game’s next six points to push their lead back to nine points (20-11) with 10:21 to play in the opening frame. Spann scored the next five points with a jumper and a three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer to close the gap to four (20-16) with eight minutes remaining in the opening frame. However, the potent Iowa offense clicked off a 13-2 run to make it a 33-18 Hawkeye lead with less than five minutes on the clock.

The teams exchanged scores over the next several minutes until the Hawkeyes scored the final four points of the opening frame to go into the locker room with a 41-24 lead. Iowa shot 50 percent from the field, including a 53.8 percent effort from three-point range.

Iowa started the second half much the same way that it started the first with a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 50-26 with 16:33 to play. Spann connected on her second three-pointer of the game to kick off an 11-3 to close the gap to 52-37 with 12 minutes remaining. During the run Spann accounted for nine points via a pair of three-pointers and one old-fashioned three-point play, while Harris added a rebound and layup.

The Hawkeye offense continued to impress with a 12-4 run to push the lead to 24 (65-41) with 7:43 on the clock. Penn State would get as close as 20 points in the final eight minutes, but could not overcome on a pair of Sevillian free throws, but could not overcome the early deficit .

The 2014-15 Penn State Lady Lion Basketball season is presented by Kish Travel and Kish Insurance. The Lady Lions continue their two-game road trip to open Big Ten play with a trip to Michigan for a New Year’s Day game before returning the Bryce Jordan Center to host Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 4 to meet Illinois at 2 p.m. for First Responders Day. The Michigan game will be on BTN Plus.

Lady Lion Basketball single-game and season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Single-game tickets range from $10-17 for adults and seniors and $5-11 for youth (12 and younger). Season tickets are $105 for adults and $52 for youth (12 and under). Additionally, the Family Season Ticket package, which features two adult tickets and two youth tickets in the family section in section 114L, is $210. There is a $15 handling fee per order on season tickets.

The PNC Flex Books are $120 and give fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions’ Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions’ Pink Zone game. The Lady Lions also have a pair of mini-plans available this season with the B1G Deal and the Five for the 50^th plans. The B1G Deal is a mini-plan that includes the nine Big Ten Conference home games. Tickets for the B1G Deal are $90 for adult sideline, $63 for youth sideline, $63 for adult baseline and $45 for youth baseline tickets. To celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Women’s Athletics at Penn State, there is a Five for the 50^th mini-plan. The plan features a ticket to the following games: South Florida (12/21), Illinois (1/4), Rutgers (1/10), Michigan State (2/11) and Ohio State (2/26). The package is $50 in honor of the 50^th anniversary.

The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.

-LADY LIONS-