She was energetic. She was poised. She was rugged.

She was certainly not playing like a freshman.

About halfway through the first half of Sunday's Lady Lions (2-0) game against Syracuse, Tyra Grant found herself in a little scoring duel with the Orange's junior guard Fantasia Goodwin.

And she would not back down.

Grant, a freshman guard and the team's first bench option, turned out an exhausting first-half spree and led the Lady Lions past Syracuse (0-1). Though she slowed in the second half and only scored three points, she still finished with a game-high 14 points and was 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point line.

"Once I hit that first three and got a few buckets, then I'm all fired up and ready to go," she said. "I just take it from there and keep going and didn't stop."

It was an impressive Bryce Jordan Center debut for Grant, who acknowledged that her arrival has not been unlike the other newcomers to campus. About a month ago, she said that she found the initial adjustment a bit difficult.

But with 11:10 remaining in the first half, she came up big and maintained until intermission, draining an energizing 3-pointer. But Syracuse's Goodwin, a junior college transfer who was fantastic inside and out, answered back with a three of her own as the Orange traveled back downcourt. She finished with a team-high 11 points.

Later, Grant started a break, pulled back, toed the line and nailed another 3-ball. With 5:28 left in the opening half, she hit a three with a Syracuse defender in her face.

"Tyra's a great player," Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman. "And we prepared for her and we knew that she'd come in and make some shots. But I didn't expect she'd shoot 75 percent in the first half from behind the arc. We knew she would make a couple, but she kinda went off on us a bit."

Penn State head coach Rene Portland lauded Grant's ability to drive and score earlier in the year, but similarly admitted that she didn't really expect her to light it up from outside.

"Those threes are something that I see when she's messing around," Portland said. "But she's that talented. She does have a balanced game."

Whatever method she used, Grant's main concern was giving the team a boost.

"Just be that spark that can get everything going," she said. "I mean, that's what I'm here for."

The emotional lift was often provided with her physical, gutsy effort. In the opening half, she broke into the lane, went up hard and collided against Syracuse's Mary Joe Riley. The two hit each other hard and crashed down in one heaping thud. Grant took a minute on the ground, then got up and walked it off.

And on defense, she stood strong and accepted a hard charge from Goodwin late in the first half, pumping up the Lady Lions bench.

Since high school, she's relied on that toughness as a key aspect of her game. As a high school standout who was named Miss Ohio Basketball during her senior season, Grant was consistently double- or triple-teamed, Portland said.

"She really is an incredible athlete," Portland said. "She has great intensity. She has really brought a lot to the table offensively and defensively."