The Lady Lions took on the Fordham Rams at the BJC Sunday afternoon in the team’s second Patriot League matchup of the season. Penn State dominated on the court with stifling defense and lightning-quick transition scoring. The early season game brought an important milestone for Head Coach Coquese Washington, who earned her 150th career victory as coach of the Lady Lions.

How It Happened

The Lady Lions opened the game a bit rusty, but once they shook off the cobwebs, the Rams simply couldn’t handle Penn State’s dominating style of play. Candice Agee led all scorers in the first half with nine points after going 4-4 from the field. While she struggled from the line, she routinely hit shots in down in the post, and was simply a game changer on the defensive side of the ball by blocking and challenging shots. The Lady Lions headed into the locker room at half time having dominated both in all aspects of the contest.

The second half featured more of the same from the Lady Lions, especially on the defensive front. Penn State unleashed that signature brand of defense that caused 17 turnovers, which allowed quick guards like Brianna Banks to find space and score in the open floor. The defense continued to suffocate the Rams in their half of the court, with bigger forwards Agee and Ashanti Thomas dominating down in the post. This opened up the team’s guards to help clog passing lanes and force turnovers.

The offense remained steady, riding a 60 percent shooting clip from the perimeter from the hot hand of Banks, who posted 16 points in the second half alone. The Rams’ feeble comeback attempts were thwarted as the Lady Lions managed to maintain a double digit lead for nearly the entire game, capping off the strong performance with a 75-59 victory.

Player Of The Game 

For the second game in a row, the honor goes to senior guard Brianna Banks. Banks shot 60 percent from behind the arc, putting up 22 points total off of a 16 point second half. She doesn’t gamble with the ball in her hands, and she gets into passing lanes with her length and blazing speed. Banks, a UConn Transfer, leads the team in scoring, and should continue to light up the stat sheets as long as she stays healthy.

What’s Next? 

The team will head to Knoxville to take on Tennessee in what figures to be the team’s stiffest challenge of the season thus far.