Sometimes, the pieces of the puzzle fall in the right places.
Penn State point guard Brianne O'Rourke, a hot hand with three three-pointers already, lined up on the wing for another. Though very short out of her hands, the ball fell perfectly into center Amanda Brown's, who alertly put it up and in for an easy two of her game-high 27 points.
The broken play exemplified how the Lady Lions (10-11, 3-5 Big Ten) controlled last night's game with No. 23 Michigan State. Despite 25 turnovers, shots were falling and passes were where they needed to be -- and so was Penn State. An energized Bryce Jordan Center crowd urged the Lady Lions to a 69-58 upset victory over the Spartans (15-5, 6-2), their first win over a ranked opponent since Dec. 4, 2005 against Texas Tech.
"We just decided as a team to go at them and attack them," Brown said. "It feels great to get this win. [Head coach] Rene [Portland] always tells us we gotta protect the Jordan Center and it's a magical place, and that's something we need to take care of every game."
Brown made it evident she would be an aggressor from the opening tip-off. Going up against 6-foot-9 Alyssa DeHaan, five inches taller than she is, Brown timed her jump well enough to force another jump ball, one that Penn State would win.
Though DeHaan came into the contest as one of the nation's leaders in blocked shots (4.6 per game), she was unable to redirect any of Brown's eight attempts underneath the basket, all of which Brown converted. Additionally, Brown forced DeHaan into early foul trouble and limited her to just five points, nearly eight below her season average. Needing to look to the bench for offense, Spartan forward Aisha Jefferson subbed in to pace the squad with 15 points.
"We focused on [DeHaan] as far as a post group most of the week," Brown said. "You don't see someone that tall every day. But, you know, it's fun to play against taller players."
On the perimeter, Tyra Grant had her toughest home game of the
season, scoring just two points
on 1-of-10 shooting. However, junior Kam Gissendanner continued her strong in-conference play with 16 points, in addition to helping Brown on the boards with six rebounds.
"I thought our rebounding was absolutely terrific tonight," Portland said. "It really took a lot of things away from [Michigan State]."
Though the Lady Lions sport a formidable 8-1 home record, Michigan State entered the game 6-1 away from East Lansing, so something had to give. Unfortunately for the Spartans, a traditionally strong road team, they continue to be winless at the Jordan Center, now 0-13 all time.
"I wouldn't make a big deal about beating a ranked team. We're not playing like a ranked team. Sorry, but we're not," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Traditionally, we've been a very, very strong road team, that's just how we feel about it. But we obviously weren't very good today."
Penn State will play Iowa at the BJC Sunday afternoon at 1.
Notes: Brown's statline: 27 points (8-8 FG, 11-13 FT), 14 rebounds, 5 assists ("She outplayed our entire team," McCallie said)... O'Rourke tied a season-high with 15 points... guard MaShea Williams missed the game with a viral infection ("This is the weirdest thing we've ever seen," Portland said)... the Lady Lions will take on Iowa at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
