Dazzling debuts

Penn State’s touted freshman class strong in exhibiton

Walt Moody

UNIVERSITY PARK — For the first 20 minutes of Sunday’s exhibition game against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the Penn State women's basketball team looked like a toddler trying to take his first steps.

Penn State forward Marisa Wolfe (40) delivers a pass around an IUP defender during Stunday's exhibition basketball game against Indiana University of Pennsylvania at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College. (For the CDT/Steve Manuel)

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In the final half, the Lady Lions cut down on mistakes and got a lift from its highly-rated freshman class as they walked past the Crimson Hawks 67-49 at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Freshman Gizelle Studevent nailed her first four shots and had 10 points in the second half as Penn State cruised. Classmate Marisa Wolfe also excelled with eight points and four boards in a game designed to prepare for Friday’s season opener at Drexel.

Junior Janessa Wolff led the Lady Lions with 11 points and nine rebounds and sophomore Zhaque Gray added 10 points in the clash, which featured a combined 50 turnovers from the two teams.

The outcome was never really in doubt, although the Lady Lions, starting two freshmen and a sophomore, struggled to find a rhythm. They turned the ball over 16 times and shot 10-for-32 in the half.

“I think in the first half it was finding a rhythm, finding confidence and getting some jitters out,” Penn State coach Coquese Washington said. “That kind of stifled us in the first half.”

Penn State still led 28-18 at the break, thanks to poor shooting from the Crimson Hawks, who were paying in their third exhibition game this week. After sinking its first three shots, IUP was 1-for-25 for the rest of the half.

Crimson Hawks coach Jeff Dow lamented multiple missed layups, but admitted his players may have been a bit wary going inside after Penn State freshman center Nikki Greene swatted two early shots.

“They got their share of blocked shots and I think our guards and posts got a little bit intimidated and little bit tentative,” Dow said.

“They blocked a couple of shots early and now all of a sudden we’re passing up open shots because we’re tentative.”

Penn State finally got things in gear with a lineup featuring no returning starters — Gray, Studevent, Wolfe, and sophomore guards Emily Phillips and Renee Womack — early in the second half.

With the score 32-22, Phillips started a 14-6 run with a 3-pointer. Gray added a 3-point play and Studevent canned three jumps shots as the lead grew to 46-28 with 12:32 left.

“I think in the second half we relaxed a little bit and made some shots,” Washington said. “The game is always harder when you’re struggling to make shots.”

Washington said she was surprised how well Studevent played. “I would not have guessed that she would come off the bench and play this well,” Washington said. “She shot the ball very well. She hit a couple of shots early and that gave her some confidence.”

Studevent, a prolific shooter in high school, said watching the first half helped her. “You kind of get an idea of what you need to do,” said Studevent, who finished 5- for-8 from the field. “I usually play (Gray’s) position. I was watching what she was doing in order to get open for her shots, how she was playing defense and how she was guarding her player. It definitely helped a lot.”

Wolfe, from Ford City High School, also looked comfortable, even though she admitted she wasn’t. She finished with eight points, four rebounds and two steals.

“She’s a kid who plays likes she practices,” Washington said. “The things she did out there today is just how she practices.”

“It was very nerve-racking at first,” Wolfe said of her fist action in a Lady Lion uniform. “As time went on, it got a lot better.”

Greene, who had five points and five rebounds, also admitted to having the jitters. “I was kind of nervous,” the 6-foot-4 center said. “You don’t want to just mess up on the first play. There’s a lot of expectations from the fans and you want to give a show and you want the fans to get into the game. It was pretty overwhelming at first.”

Washington gave the young players plenty of time to get their feet wet. She kept several returnees, including forward Julia Trogele (six points, six rebounds), on the bench for most of the second half.

Phillips, who saw limited action last season, had seven of her game-high nine assists after the break. Penn State shot 50 percent (17-for-34) in the second half.

“We intentionally played our young kids a lot in the second half because they need to be out here and play,” Washington said. “... I thought it was really valuable experience from them to be out there and to play together and build that rapport with each other. This is going to solidify our bench.”

The struggles weren’t only with youth. Tyra Grant, an All-Big Ten first team selection, was 3-for-16 from the field and had eight points with four turnovers. Grant also had a poor preseason game last season and went on to finish second in the Big Ten with a 19.6 scoring average.

Kierstin Filla and Sylvie Tafen led the Crimson Hawks, 26-6 last season, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. IUP was 23-of- 26 from the foul line.