With nine seconds left in the game, a lay up from Julia Trogele gave the Penn State women's basketball team a 67-65 road victory over Illinois on Thursday. The Lady Lions overcame a poor shooting performance and 24 turnovers to improve to 6-2 in the Big Ten.
Penn State headed into the match-up with Illinois having lost two of three Big Ten road games, including a 10-point loss to Purdue last week. Trogele, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Nikki Greene, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds, made sure the Lady Lions would not get blown out again.
Maggie Lucas has made quite an impression in her first year on the Penn State women's basketball team. Lucas leads the Lady Lions in scoring at 16.6 points per game. She has won the Big Ten freshman of the week award six times this season.
Onward State got a chance to speak with Lucas via e-mail to discuss her amazing freshman season.
The Penn State men's volleyball team opened up their conference schedule with two victories last weekend. Joe Sunder led the Nittany Lions in kills in both of the wins.
With the victories, the Nittany Lions improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Next week, Penn State has two home contests against competition that they are heavily favored to defeat.
Upcoming schedule:
Friday: vs. Loyola, 7 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Lewis, 7 p.m.
Chris Pronchik has had a full experience here at Penn State. He is a member of the Penn State men's hockey team, scoring seven goals in 23 games this year. He is also an active participant in THON. For the second straight year, Pronchik serves as a THON captain. Onward State got a chance to talk to Pronchik while he balances life in the middle of both hockey and THON season. Check it out after the jump.
Coming off a loss to Purdue last Thursday, the Lady Lions needed a win against Indiana to stay in the hunt for first place in the Big Ten. It took a double-double from Mia Nickson and dominance on the boards to keep the Hoosiers at bay.
The Penn State women's basketball team could not overcome a poor first half and turnover issues in its 79-69 loss to Purdue on Thursday night. A strong second-half rally was not enough, and the Lady Lions suffered their fifth defeat of the year.
After breaking the record for most 3-pointers made by a freshman on Sunday against Illinois, Maggie Lucas was held in check by the Purdue defense. Lucas made three 3-pointers, but only 13 points--well below her season average of 16.8 percent. Alex Bentley led the Lady Lions with 14 points, while Julia Trogele and Gray each contributed 12.
With the loss, Penn State falls to 15-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. Next up for the Lady Lions is a home match against Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m.