The first nine minutes of the Lady Lions game on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center looked like it would be a close game against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
But after a media timeout with 11:22 left to play in the first half, Penn State came to life, eventually winning, 101-44.
It took the sixth-ranked Lady Lions more than a minute to score their first basket of the game, and after being tied at 10, they went on a 20-3 run in the next six minutes of play, never looking back.
Penn State coach Coquese Washington said that the defensive intensity finally kicked in to give them that run.
“We’re a team that sometimes it takes us a few minutes to feel the game out,’ she said. ‘Sometimes it takes us a whole half to feel the game out.”
A new starting lineup also debuted, featuring redshirt senior Dara Taylor and junior Talia East along with usual starters junior Maggie Lucas, who led her team with 24 points, senior Alex Bentley and senior Nikki Greene.
‘I think it took a few minutes for those five to get a rhythm playing together,” Washington said.
She also said she likes the speed that Taylor brings to her team. Washington wants her Lady Lions to play faster, and Taylor can bring that when she’s on the court, especially when paired with Bentley.
The Lady Lions held the Falcons to just eight rebounds in the second half after being out-rebounded in the first half, 19-17.
“We talk a lot about what our identity is going to be throughout the season, and it’s important that game to game we keep improving,” Lucas said.
The Lady Lions will now travel to No. 2 UConn at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Lions will return home to play Georgetown next Sunday.
