Spann’s 13 Points Not Enough for Lady Lions in Wisconsin

By Kenny Varner
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Updated: January 8, 2015

Courtesy of Penn State Athletics

Penn State drops a 65-46 decision to the Badgers in Big Ten action

MADISON, WIS.; January 6, 2015 – Wisconsin (6-8, 2-2) used a 16-0 early in the second half to take control of a nip-and-tuck game and hand the Penn State Lady Lions (3-12, 0-4) a 65-46 loss in Madison on Tuesday. Freshman guard Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.) lead the Lady Lions for the 11^th time in her young career with 13 points.

Spann reached double figures for the 14^th time in 15 games. She also had four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Junior center Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) added nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Jenny DeGraaf (Springboro, Ohio) had seven points off of the bench.

Jackie Gulczynski led all scorers with 23 points, including six three-pointers.

The Badgers came out of the gates strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first 2:10, but Penn State sliced into the lead with a jumper by DeGraaf and two free throws by Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) to make it a 7-4 Wisconsin lead with 16:15 on the clock.

After a pair of free throws by Wisconsin’s Gulczynski pushed the lead back to five, the Lady Lions found their rhythm as Spann hit back-to-back jumpers to kick off a 14-1 run. After an exchange of single free throws, Alex Harris (Lorain, Ohio), Agee and Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.) all scored in the post. DeGraaf capped the run with a three-pointer to make it an 18-10 Penn State lead with 10:22 remaining.

The Badgers fought back, scoring 14 of the next 18 points to take a two-point lead at 24-22 with 2:56 remaining. However, Spann evened the game on Penn State’s next possession and then found Whitted for a layup with 51 seconds left to send the Lions into the break with a 26-24 lead.

Tori Waldner (Milton, Ga.) made one of two free throws to open the scoring in the second half, but the Badgers would score eight of the next 10 points to take a 32-29 lead with 15:49 to play. After an Agee basket, the Badgers went on a 16-0 run to establish a 48-31 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

The Lady Lions trimmed the lead to 14 (50-36) when Sierra Moore (Hanover, Pa.) and Spann combined to score five of the next seven points. The Badgers pushed the lead back to 21 as the Lady Lions struggled to score from the field. Penn State would close within 17 points down the stretch, but could not overcome the Wisconsin lead.