Lady Lions cruise by Central Connecticut State 73-47

Brianna Banks sat on the bench, her right lower leg in a walking boot, and watched as Penn State overcame a sluggish first half to cruise by Central Connecticut State on Sunday, 73-47.

Without Banks, head coach Coquese Washington sent a lineup of Candice Agee, Teniya Page, Lindsey Spann, Kaliyah Mitchell and Peyton Whitted out to start against the Blue Devils (1-3).

“We hope to have (Banks) back in California (this weekend),” said Washington, after the game. She said Banks is day-to-day with an ankle sprain.

Whitted led the effort with her third double-double of the season (15 points and 15 rebounds), followed by Page’s 14 points and Agee’s 13, but the five starters took a half to find their energy.

“We started out kind of sluggish, just weren’t really talking as much,” said Whitted after the game. “We talked about it at halftime, and just came out and went at them the second half.”

Agee said the team expected a faster start after holding No. 4 Tennessee so closely through much of its last game.

“We had certain expectations,” she said. “But playing three games in six days is tough, so we were battling a couple of different things. I think the important part is that we were able to lock in and focus.

“We know how we can play, and what’s expected of us.”

The Lady Lions (3-1) trailed until 56 seconds remained in first quarter, when Teniya Page evened the score to 10-all with two free throws.

Central Connecticut added a bucket late to take a 12-10 lead after the first period. Penn State made just four baskets on 11 attempts to that point, and missed all three 3-point attempts.

Agee’s three-point play pushed Penn State ahead 15-14, but CCSU rattled off two quick baskets to retake the lead.

Keke Sevillian came off the bench to hit Penn State’s first 3-pointer of the game.

Back-to-back traveling violations, followed by a bobbled pass snagged by the Blue Devils, kept the Lady Lions from boosting a four-point lead midway through the second quarter as CCSU found itself in a four-minute scoring drought.

Whitted sank a 3-pointer to lend a spark to the offense after those three consecutive turnovers.

The Blue Devils ended the half in a box-and-1 zone that pinned the Lady Lions up high. Page broke the zone and doled a pass to Agee, who was unable to capitalize down low.

Page sank a 15-foot jumper to push the lead to seven, but CCSU went on a 5-0 run, during which Agee appeared to tweak her knee.

Another Lady Lions turnover ended the half with Penn State up 32-25, behind 11 of 25 shooting from the field and eight free throws in 11 tries, alongside 13 turnovers.

The same lineup came out to open the second half; but the results were immediately different.

The Lady Lions quickly hit four shots in a row, including another 15-footer from Page, followed by a breakaway layup, on their way to 21 third-quarter points. CCSU hit one shot in 14 tries in the period.

Page opened the final period with yet another 15-foot jumper, followed by a baseline corner 3-pointer from Mitchell. Walk-on Leah Knizner hit a 3 with about two minutes left to push Penn State to its 71st point.

The Blue Devils scored just 22 second-half points as the Lady Lions rolled to a 26-point victory.

The team heads to California this weekend for the Radisson Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic.

This story was originally published November 22, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Lady Lions cruise by Central Connecticut State 73-47."