Blue White Illustrated

W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L Lady Lions' resurgence continued in 2011-12. But there's more to be done ONWARD AND UPWARD BY MATT HERB matt@bluewhiteonline.com she enrolled at Penn State four years ago. She did it because she felt as though that coach, Coquese Washing- ton, was going to hold her to a high standard. "She's always going to tell you the Z truth, even if you don't like it," Gray said. "She's going to tell you the truth, and coach you and make you more than just a great women's bas- ketball player; she's going to make you a great woman. All those components made me come here." Last month, the Chicago guard wrapped up her Lady Lion career. And though her final game was a loss – 77- 59 to Connecticut – it took place in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, a place that Penn State hadn't been since 2004. Seems Washington's high stan- dards – the ones to which she has been holding both her players and herself – have been paying off. Said Gray, "I give all the credit to Co and the other coaches. They put togeth- er a team that can ultimately compete for a national championship." It's time now for Gray and Washing- ton to go their separate ways. After fin- ishing third on the team in scorning this past season (10.6 points per game), Gray is getting set to graduate in August and is looking for opportu- nities to continue her playing career professionally. And Washington? Her future looks promising, too. She led Penn State to a 26-7 finish, a Big Ten regular-sea- son title and a No. 9 ranking in the season-ending ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll this past season, the team's best finish in her five years on campus. The Lady Lions led the Big Ten in scoring offense (75.7), scoring margin (+13.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (36.2). That might seem like a tough act to W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M haque Gray took a chance on a struggling basketball program and an unproven head coach when follow. But except for Gray, everyone is back. What's more, the Lady Lions will be adding two players who won McDonald's All-America status in high school: center Candice Agee and guard Dara Taylor. Agee is an incoming freshman from Victorville, Calif., while Taylor will have junior eligibility after sitting out this past season following her transfer from Maryland. Taylor prac- ticed with the team throughout the season and impressed teammates with her tremendous quickness. So what can fans expect? "Some in- credible passes, and some great D," Gray said. "She's really, really fast. She's going to speed us up even more. People say we play at a fast tempo now, but once she gets on the court, we're going to be even faster." Washington downplayed the ex- pectations, preferring to focus on the areas in which the team still needs to improve. She's looking for more consistent rebounding, better de- fense (the Lady Lions were sixth in the conference in scoring defense this past year) and more-balanced scoring. "We haven't really talked about our expectations for next year," she said. "That's par for the course for us. I don't set the goals; the team does. But we always want to get better. … So the goal is to not take a step back next year, but to get better, more compet- itive. What that looks like for us next year, I'm not sure. But we certainly want to be a better team than we were this year." Gray won't be a part of it, but she's expecting the team's upward tra- jectory to continue. "I feel like these guys are just going to keep building and getting better each year," she said, "just like we always do." SEASON SUMMARY MVP Tough call. Maggie Lucas was third in the Big Ten in scoring (19.5 points per game), while Alex Bentley was 11th in scoring (14.1) and fourth in assists (4.7). Let's give it to Bentley. She was the one who kept the Lady Lions' of- fense in high gear. UNSUNG HERO She missed nine games early in the season, but when she got healthy, Mia Nickson was a force, tying for the team lead with 7.8 rebounds per game and making the Kingston All-Region team after scoring 19 points in the Lady Lions' season-ending loss to Connecticut. KEY STAT Penn State led the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 75.7 points per game. HIGHLIGHT The Lady Lions outlasted LSU on the Tigers' home court, 90-80, in a second-round NCAA tournament game, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004. LOWLIGHT Penn State squandered a nine-point second-half lead at home and lost its Big Ten opener to Nebraska, 71-63. It was the Cornhuskers' first-ever Big Ten game. QUOTABLE Coquese Washington, when asked to assess Penn State's season fol- lowing the team's loss to Connecticut in the NCAA tournament: "I think it's a very good step for us. We wanted to improve every single season, and I think we've done that. … I feel very confident that we'll be a better team next year from this experience. I have no doubt about that." FINAL ANALYSIS The Lady Lions lived up to high preseason expectations but came away from the season feeling as though they could have done even better. Had they not lost in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, they might have got- ten a better seed at NCAAs, one that would have allowed them to avoid a Sweet 16 matchup like the one they got – a game against perennial title contender Connecticut in Kingston, R.I. Still, this was a highly successful season, and it set the stage for a 2012-13 campaign that could be even better. CONNECTICUT 77, PENN STATE 59 M A R C H 2 5 @ K I N G S T O N , R . I . PLAYER OF THE GAMEBria Hartley went 8 for 16 from the floor and finished with 20 points for the Huskies. STAT OF THE GAME Penn State's two leading scorers this season – Maggie Lucas and Alex Bentley – combined to go 7 of 31 from the floor and 3 of 14 from 3-point range. TURNING POINTAfter Penn State chopped their 14-point lead to five with 8:14 left in the first half, the Huskies re- sponded by outscoring Penn State 17-8 to close out the first half. QUOTABLECoquese Washington: "UConn played like a team that had experience playing at this level, and our kids came into the game ready, they were prepared, [but] I think they were probably a little too pre- pared, too eager for the game and played uncharacteristically fast." NAME Nickson Greene Gray Bentley Lucas East Edwards Waldner TEAM Totals FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 8-12 TOT-FG 3-PT 0-0 0-1 3-9 3-15 4-16 3-5 1-3 0-0 22-61 0-0 1-4 0-3 3-11 0-0 0-0 0-0 PENN STATE REBOUNDS 3-4 3 2 5 1 19 1 2 1 2 34 0-0 2 2 4 3 0 0 3 0 1 13 0-0 0 1 1 0 7 1 1 0 0 35 2-2 0 1 1 3 8 2 3 0 2 33 4-6 0 3 3 4 15 3 4 0 2 40 0-2 2 8 10 1 6 0 1 1 2 26 2-2 2 1 3 0 4 1 1 0 0 18 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 3 4-18 11-16 11 19 30 13 59 8 15 2 9 200 TOTAL FG PCT 1st Half: 10-31 32.3% 2nd Half: 12-30 40.0% Game: 36.1% 3-PT FG PCT 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 2-9 22.2% Game: 22.2% FT PCT 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 68.8% NAME Dolson Hayes Doty Hartley Faris Banks Stokes TEAM Totals FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 5-9 TOT-FG 3-PT 0-0 4-11 3-6 8-16 7-10 1-2 Mosqueda-Lewis4-10 Buck 0-0 1-3 27-65 0-3 0-2 2-5 0-3 0-0 2-5 0-0 0-0 CONNECTICUT REBOUNDS 0-0 3 2 5 3 10 3 3 2 2 32 2-2 1 5 6 2 10 2 0 0 2 28 0-0 1 1 2 4 6 1 2 0 1 26 2-2 0 2 2 1 20 4 2 0 0 39 1-2 2 5 7 3 15 5 2 1 3 25 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 2-2 2 9 11 2 12 0 3 0 0 31 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0-0 1 5 6 1 2 0 0 1 0 14 2 2 4 1 6-15 25-31 12 24 36 15 85 10 13 5 6 200 TOTAL FG PCT 1st Half: 18-36 50.0% 2nd Half: 15-31 48.4% Game: 49.3% 3-PT FG PCT 1st Half: 3-12 25.0% 2nd Half: 1-6 16.7% Game: 22.2% FT PCT 1st Half: 4-4 100 % 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 87.5% OFFICIALS Dennis DeMayo, Melissa Barlow, Jesse Dickerson TECHNICAL FOULS Penn State-None. Connecticut-None. ATTENDANCE 6,031 SCORE BY PERIODS Penn State Connecticut 1ST 2ND TOTAL 29 43 30 34 59 77 – M.H. Points in the paint-PSU 24,UCONN 36. Points off turnovers-PSU 15,UCONN 18. 2nd chance points-PSU 8,UCONN 14. Fast break points-PSU 6,UCONN 12. Bench points-PSU 10,UCONN 16. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-0 times. Last FG-PSU 2nd-01:27, UCONN 2nd-06:07. Largest lead-PSU None, UCONN by 28 2nd-06:07. A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 33

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