Lady Lions: Penn State Rights Ship in Victory Against Michigan

It’s no secret what the Lady Lions are about as they settle into Big Ten play and the second half of their regular season.

Here was coach Coquese Washington, dressed in a pink blazer following a 78-63 victory against Michigan, not shying away from dissecting her team, equal parts good and bad.

Her team can score 100 points and defeat a top-25 program. But it can also give up 75 points at home in a loss to Michigan State.

‘That’s who we are, and we have to work to be at our best more often than we’re at our worst,’ Washington said Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Do that over the next two months, and Washington will place all her money on her team being the last to stand at the Big Ten Tournament in March.

And really, that’s what this season is about. March.

And that’s why Maggie Lucas made the type of play she made to ensure her team didn’t face an uphill climb for a regular season conference championship: Lucas poked away possession from Michigan’s point near the sideline at mid-court, took an Alex Bentley pass in stride and finished at the tin, shouting and jumping and chest-bumping Bentley at the free throw line before sinking her shot to complete the three-point play with just more than 13 minutes remaining.

Penn State was already in front by 19, but there was no time to sit on the ball, or ease up defensively. Not when a lapse in hustle or focus could be the glimmer of light Michigan needed to climb back into the game. And not when you’re staring a 1-3 conference record in the eye.

‘You might have been comfortable,’ Washington quipped to a reporter when questioned on her team’s double-digit lead throughout the game. Michigan (13-4, 2-2 Big Ten), coming off an 11-point victory against No. 11 Ohio State — the Buckeyes only loss this season — was more than capable of continuing the Lions’ early conference struggles.

Lucas, the sophomore guard coming off a career-high 33-point effort against Michigan State, finished with a game-high 22 points. She led a balanced offensive attack that saw the Lions shoot 55.4 percent from the field.

‘They’re gonna shoot 57 percent against us no matter what we do,’ Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. ‘We couldn’t defend them.’

Penn State led, 41-19, at the half thanks to a 24-4 scoring run spanning about six minutes, enough of a buffer to see a lead through the end.

The Lady Lions (12-4, 2-2) travel to Nebraska and Illinois next week before returning home Jan. 22 against Iowa. Nebraska, the conference leaders, defeated Penn State by eight Dec. 30 at the Jordan Center.

The Lions will look to string together back-to-back conference victories for the first time this season.

‘Losses suck,’ Bentley said. ‘And you just gotta fight back and bounce back and we started in practice and we started loud in the gym and talking and being energized and it carried over.’

Related Content:

• StateCollege.com’s Penn State basketball page