Late rally helps Lady Lions top Illini, 65-56

The defense wasn’t Penn State’s problem in the first half of Saturday’s Big Ten road win over Illinois, 65-56, in Champaign, Ill.

The Lady Lions had held the Illini to just 26 points by halftime, and just one run, a 7-0 effort spurred by Illinois’ Jaelyne Kirkpatrick.

The only problem?

Penn State was slow to strike, hitting just 10 of 38 first-half attempts.

“We struggled in the first half offensively, defensively we weren’t in bad shape,” said head coach Coquese Washington via phone after the game. “Not a great offensive first half for us. ... (In the third quarter) we were able to get our footing a little offensively.”

Earlier in the season, a first half like that may have been the team’s undoing. But where most scoring was absent, freshman Teniya Page held the offense together. She had 10 of the team’s 20 halftime points on her way to a team-high 27 for the game, with 13 fourth-quarter points. It was her fourth 20-point game of the season, and she also added five rebounds and two assists to the effort.

“She was really aggressive offensively,” said Washington. “She hit a couple good baskets, got to the free throw line ... hit a couple good pull-ups for us.”

Page was complemented by senior Brianna Banks’ 12 points, and when the guard fouled out in the fourth quarter, redshirt sophomore Lindsey Spann came in and lent nine points to the effort, including a late 3-pointer to push the Lady Lions’ lead.

The team shot 60.9 percent from the field in the second half, as Penn State overcame an 11-point deficit in the third quarter with a 14-4 run.

A 27-point fourth quarter earned the solid win for the Lady Lions, helped by Page’s double-digit outing and Spann’s six fourth-quarter points and 10 of 13 shooting from the field by the team.

“We played our strongest portion of the game in the fourth quarter,” said Washington. “I think we’re starting to get a little consistency out of our backcourt. They’re playing with a lot of confidence, and especially in nights like tonight they played with a lot of patience and were able to find their way.”

It’s the team’s second straight win, and both have come in conference play on the road. Most importantly, the defensive rhythm is starting to click.

“I think we’re a little bit more balanced, you know, able to play both man (-to-man defense) and zone,” Washington said. “And find our rhythm as to what is going to be working that night. ... It’s the work we’ve been putting in in practice that we have a lot more confidence in it and a lot more intensity.”

Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday to host the Maryland Terrapins at 7 p.m.

Note: The Centre Daily Times covered the game via broadcast and statcast.

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Late rally helps Lady Lions top Illini, 65-56."