University Park, Pa. — After posting its best Big Ten campaign since 2003-04, the Penn State Lady Lions (22-8, 11-5) were rewarded by having four different players be honored with Big Ten postseason awards. Guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) leads the selections after winning both the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year. Additionally, sophomore guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) garnered first team All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career, while senior guard/forward Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) and sophomore center Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) were honorable mention choices. Lucas was also an All-Big Ten choice (second – media; third – coaches). Greene was also named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team.
"I’m really happy for all of our players," head coach Coquese Washington said. "They each have a tremendous impact on our program and it’s always nice to be recognized for a job well done."
Lucas is just the second Lady Lion to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, joining Kelly Mazzante, who won the award in 2001. She is also the first Penn State player to claim Sixth Player of the Year accolades. In addition to her major awards, Lucas was named to the All-Big Ten second team by the media and the third team by the coaches. She also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team for her effort.
Lucas has made an immediate impact for the Lady Lions, as she is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at a 16.3 per game rate. Lucas, who took home a conference-record eight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, leads the league and is second in the NCAA in three-pointers per game (3.4). The Narberth, Pa. native is also third in the Big Ten and in the Top 10 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.449). Lucas’ 12 games with 20 or more points this season are the most since Mazzante tallied 10 20-point outings as a rookie.
With her three three-pointers against Northwestern Sunday, Lucas tied Mazzante’s single-season three-pointers record with her 102nd triple of the season. She is just the third player in Big Ten history to have 100 long-range shots in a season (Mazzante and OSU’s Caity Matter). She netted a Big Ten-best 3.3 three-pointers per game to become the second Penn State player to lead the conference in triples, joining Kelly Mazzante, who accomplished the feat three times. Lucas has also moved into fifth place on the NCAA freshman three-pointers list.
Bentley is the 11th player in school history to claim first team All-Big Ten accolades from the coaches, joining the likes of Mazzante, Helen Darling, Tanisha Wright and Tyra Grant. The Indianapolis, Ind. native was also named to the All-Big Ten third team by the media. Bentley is in the top 15 in the Big Ten in scoring (13th – 13.8), assists (2nd – 5.2), free throw percentage (6th – .823), steals (8th – 1 .9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd – 1.7). She also ranks 14th in school history with 281 assists. The sophomore guard has had five 20-point games, including a career-high 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including a game-tying scoop shot with .5 seconds remaining in regulation on Dec. 2 at Boston College.
Trogele, who is also Penn State’s selection for the Sportsmanship Award, garners All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades for the first time in her career after averaging career highs of 9.0 points and 6.7 rebounds. She paced Big Ten play with an .881 free throw percentage, becoming the first Lady Lion to lead the league in free throw shooting since Adrienne Squire shot .919 from the charity stripe in 2005-06. Troegle currently ranks in the top 15 in the Big Ten in overall rebounding (8th – 6.7), field goal percentage (4th – .515), free throw percentage (13th – .800) and steals (7th – 1.9). The Devon, Pa. native is just the 19th player in school history with 700 points and 600 rebounds and ranks eighth in school history with an .808 career free throw percentage.
Greene is the first Lady Lion to earn Big Ten All-Defensive team accolades since the award’s inception in 2006. She also takes home All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades for the first time in her career. Greene is sixth in the Big Ten in rebounding at a 7.7 per game clip and is fourth in blocked shots (2.2). She finished second in conference play in rejections with 42. Greene is the seventh player in school history to reach 100 career blocks and is currently seventh on Penn State’s career blocked shots list (121 blocks). Her 66 rejections this season are eighth on Penn State’s single-season blocks chart with 66 rejections. Earlier this season, the Diboll, Texas native became the first Lady Lion since 1987 to grab 20 rebounds in a game with a career-best 20 caroms against Indiana Jan. 23. Her 20 rebounds tie the Bryce Jordan Center record and are tied for fifth on Penn State’s single-game list.
