Sprinting out of the locker room, the Lady Lions and Dayton Flyers continued the pace the rest of the way to tip off the 2011 Women’s NCAA Tournament in the 75-66 victory over the Dayton Flyers.
Pacing the offense for the Lady Lions was not “Machine Gun Maggie Lucas” as we’ve come to expect from the freshman phenom, but rather sophomore Alex Bentley.
The first team All Big Ten guard has shown inconsistency this season, but really came to play in this first round game. Bentley shot 7 of 15 from the field for 14 points and four assists in the first half, including a Talor Battle-esque shot to close out the half just before the buzzer sounded.
In the second half, it was the same story. Bentley finished with TWENTY EIGHT shots in the contest, connecting on twelve shots and accumulating 25 points.
Dayton threw multiple defenders at Lucas throughout the entire game, making every attempt difficult to come by. She still however managed to hit two from distance, including one from somewhere around the Beaver Stadium parking lot.
It was her six free throws though, in the final minutes, that were her biggest contributions. Lucas finished with 12 points for Penn State, while Mia Nickson contributed 14.
While no one will complain with a nine point PSU victory, it was far from an impressive performance. Dayton turned the ball over an excess of 20 times, yet still managed to stay in the game. This should have been a blow out in Penn State’s favor. However, sloppy offense and allowing Dayton to connect on 10-24 three point attempts kept the game close.
The Lady Lions will need a much more balanced scoring attempt to make a deep run in this tournament. Alex Bentley’s 28 shots is far too many for any player to take, and she would be the first to tell you that.
Penn State will take on the winner of Depaul and Navy on Monday.
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