Penn State Women’s Basketball Falls to Rutgers in Sunday Matchup

Story posted January 28, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by David Green

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - The Lady Lions took on the Scarlet Knights Sunday in the Bryce Jordan Center and lost, 69-61.

Unranked Penn State certainly had its work cut out going into this game, as the Scarlet Knights were ranked 14th in the nation. With Sunday’s win, Rutgers is now 27-19 against Penn State all time.

Penn State struggled to get a good look at the basket in the opening few possessions of the game. Once the team settled in, players such as Jaida Travascio-Green and Teniya Page were able to contribute turning defense into offense which led to a seven-point Nittany Lion lead in the second quarter.

Rutgers did an excellent job of guarding the 3-point line in this game, as Penn State shot 7 of 21 from deep. As a result of Rutgers not letting Penn State get off open threes, the Lady Lions did a superb job of attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line attempting 28 free throws compared to Rutgers attempting only 11.

The Scarlet Knights went on a 6-0 run to end the first half and carried that momentum with them into the third quarter. With 3:04 left in the third quarter, Rutgers pulled away by its biggest lead of the game with 13.

“It was a little bit of everything,” Penn State coach Coquese Washington said. “They got some offensive rebounds, run outs and we also lost some turnovers.”

Penn State did make a few late comebacks to try and close the gap but ultimately fell short in the waning minutes. Although both teams scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, the third quarter is what ultimately decided this game as Rutgers outscored Penn State 22-15.

Rutgers head coach Vivian Stringer talked after the game about how her Scarlet Knights were able to hold off Penn State despite allowing 15 offensive rebounds.

“We did things to throw them off defensively,” Stringer said. “An example is that we showed a man-defense and then switched into a zone defense to throw them off, as well as not worrying about continuity.”

Stasha Carey had the strongest game for the Scarlet Knights, as she was able to score 19 points on 50 percent shooting to go along with seven boards and a steal.

Stringer also talked about the adjustments she made in the first half that led to the momentum for Rutgers that won the game.

“I was frustrated in the beginning, I thought we played lackadaisical,” Stringer said. “In addition to having great talent, they have to be mentally tough.”

Penn State basketball fans all over are hoping that the Lady Lions can bounce back in their next game when they travel to East Lansing, Michigan to take on the Spartans.

 

 

David Green is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email davidrgreen95@gmail.com.