After a long absence, the Penn State women’s basketball team has returned to the summit.
The Lady Lions captured at least a share of the Big Ten regular season basketball title on Monday night by drubbing Ohio State at the Bryce Jordan Center.
In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a closer look at the state of both basketball programs.
Let’s start with the Lady Lions.
Back on Top
Confetti fell at the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday night. With an 84-66 win over rival Ohio State, the Penn State women’s basketball captured at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title and locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
It was a mild upset as the No. 12 Lady Lions dominated the No. 9 Buckeyes, who were outhustled and outplayed by the Big Ten’s top squad. Penn State dominated on the boards, pulling down 60 rebounds while Ohio State had just 32.
It appears that the Lady Lions (22-5 overall, 12-3 Big Ten) are peaking at the right time. If they can take home the hardware at the Big Ten Tournament, they could get a very nice seed in the NCAA tournament. While a No. 1 seed is probably out of the picture, there’s a chance they could clinch a No. 2 or No. 3. A No. 3 seed appears to be the most likely scenario.
Head coach Coquese Washington was excited to see her team reach one of its preseason goals.
“I’m really happy,” Washington said. “It wasn’t looking forward. It was simply looking in the mirror and figuring out what we have to do to be one of the best programs in the country.”
In the win over Ohio State, Nikki Greene and Mia Nickson combined to score 43 points. They also crashed the boards hard, grabbing 30 rebounds.
As the Lady Lions prepare for the Big Ten Tourney, they appear to be clicking on all cylinders. Sophomore sensation Maggie Lucas has been on fire all season. She leads the team in scoring, averaging 19 points per game. Alex Bentley (14) and Zhaque Gray (10) are also averaging in double figures. The team is balanced, which bodes well for the postseason. If they get hot, they could make a nice run in the NCAA tourney.
The Lady Lions are hoping to pack the BJC for Sunday’s annual “Think Pink” contest. For every ticket sold, Penn State will donate $3 to the fight against cancer. It’s a great cause, a great day and certainly worthy of your time.
Struggles Continue
While the Lady Lions have captured a share of the Big Ten regular season title, the Penn State men’s basketball team has endured its share of struggles under first-year coach Patrick Chambers. Heading into Saturday’s game with Northwestern, the Nittany Lions are 12-16 overall, 4-11 in the conference. With all of the players who departed following the 2010-11 season, this is just about where many thought the team would be. The Nittany Lions have dropped six of their last eight. However, they did post a couple of nice home wins over Nebraska and Iowa.
The teams seems to have responded to Chambers extremely well. His fiery demeanor is the polar opposite of Ed DeChellis, who lacked emotion on the bench.
Tim Frazier has been sensational for the Lions this season. He enters Saturday’s game averaging nearly 19 points per contest. Jermaine Marshall is the other Lion averaging in double digits, scoring 10.4 per game.
And while Chambers isn’t winning an awful lot of games, he has done some things to make strides in the community. Shortly after the passing of Penn State coach Joe Paterno, Chambers wore rolled up khakis and Paterno’s signature black Nikes to a game. Those images made national news and got the Lions some much-needed good publicity. Also, after Chambers called off the dogs in a game against Nebraska, he offered to buy several hundred students Big Macs to make up for the fact that the Lions didn’t hit 70 points. (A season-long promotion says that fans get Big Macs when the squad hits 70 or more points).
“I definitely wanted them to get the Big Macs,” Chambers said following a 67-51 win over the Cornhuskers. “I just couldn’t do that to Nebraska.”
He showed up at the McDonald’s on College Avenue and handed out Big Macs. It’s those types of things that will score points with the students and fans alike.
Chambers has also landed at least one blue-chip recruit. While there is a long way to go, it’s clear that the rebuilding process has begun.
Chris Morelli is an award-winning writer/editor who lives in Centre County and covers Penn State athletics for gantnews.com. He’s also a regular on “Sports Central which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. Also, be sure to check out Morelli OnLion on Facebook!