No. 16 Penn St. women rout Wagner 103-42

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Alex Bentley and Maggie Lucas each scored 23 points to lead No. 16 Penn State to a 103-42 victory over Wagner on Sunday.

The Lady Lions (9-2) got off to a slow start, then put together a 33-3 run to take a 35-10 lead. Lucas capped the run with two free throws and had 18 points in the first half.

Veronick Fournier had 12 points and six rebounds for Wagner (2-8), which was outrebounded 54-42.

The Lady Lions held Wagner to 16 percent shooting in the first half and led 57-19 at the break, overwhelming the Seahawks with their athleticism. Penn State forced 24 turnovers and had 12 steals, sparked by ball pressure from guards Bentley, Zhaque Gray and Ariel Edwards.

"If I'm running the point, I do not want to see that threesome coming at me," Lucas said. "I thought they played the top really well."

The exception was the first two-plus minutes of the game, when Fournier's 3-pointer gave Wagner a 7-2 lead.

Penn State took over from there, turning up the pressure on the perimeter and dominating inside on offense, where the Lady Lions held a 50-14 advantage in points in the paint.

"You hope the first media timeout to keep the game close. The second media timeout you look up and you see where things are at — and things were going bad in a hurry," Wagner coach Gela Mikalauskas said. "Their defensive pressure had a lot to do with it in the first half."

Penn State coach Coquese Washington went to her reserves more in the second half to give stars Bentley and Lucas some rest with Big Ten play looming.

"We got some stops and got going in transition," Washington said. "When we get into transition, our eyes light up."

Gray added 13 points for Penn State.