Box ScoreUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Nov. 1) – In their lone exhibition of the preseason, the Vulcans suffered an 84-58 loss against Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Lions finished with a 6-24 overall record last year and tied for last in the Big Ten with a 3-16 league record. Coquese Washingon enters her ninth season as head coach at Penn State and has been selected the Big Ten Coach of the Year three times.
Cal U head coach
Jess Strom was a standout for the Lady Lions and helped the program capture a pair of Big Ten regular-season titles. She was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and ranks among the program's all-time leaders in steals and three-pointers made.
"It's great to be back here, seeing so many familiar faces," said Strom, who is entering her fifth year as head coach of the Vulcans. "It's exciting to coach a new team and try to compete and win a game, but at the same time, I'm going to be cheering for Penn State all season."
Junior guard
Miki Glenn (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) led the team with 15 points on 4-of-13 from the field and six-of-six from the free-throw line. She also added three rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes.
Sophomore forward
Shatara Parsons (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) added 14 points and six rebounds (four offensive) while playing 24 minutes off the bench. Junior
Precious Martin (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored 11 points and collected a team-high eight rebounds while also adding two assists and two steals.
Cal U tied the score at 7-7 with 5:29 left in the first quarter on a three-pointer by junior
CeCe Dixon (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) before Penn State mounted an 8-0 run to take a 15-7 lead at the 3:31-mark. The Vulcans then scored back-to-back baskets to trim the deficit to 15-11 before the Lady Lions took a 21-15 lead into the second quarter. Penn State eventually led by as many as 14 points, 37-23, in the second quarter before taking a 39-28 lead into halftime.
The Lady Lions opened the third quarter on a 16-5 run to stretch their lead to 55-33 with 5:37 left to play. After a jumper by Glenn, Penn State answered with an 8-0 run to take a 63-25 lead with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter. The Lady Lions led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter before earning the 84-58 victory.
Senior guard Brianna Banks led all players with 20 points after sitting out last season following a transfer from Connecticut. Juniors Kaliyah Mitchell and Peyton Whitted each recorded double-doubles with Mitchell posting 15 points and 14rebounds, while Whitted tallying 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"We're returning one starter, so all of these kids are very young and inexperienced, so this was throwing them in the fire pretty quickly," said Strom. "We don't really see players this big in our conference but it's a good experience for us."
The Vulcans were limited to a .271 field-goal percentage (19-of-70) and made 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Lady Lions shot at a 49.3 clip (34-of-69) from the field and 73.7 percent (14-of-19) from the charity stripe. Penn State finished with a 54-34 rebounding advantage and scored 58 points from inside the paint.
Cal U opens the regular season in about two weeks when it plays in the West Liberty Conference Challenge against Notre Dame (Ohio) and the host Hilltoppers on Nov. 14-15.
