Clemson Falls To Penn State, 69-54

Dec. 19, 1999

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Andrea Garner scored 19 points and Chrissy Falcone and Rashana Barnes both added 12 in leading sixth-ranked Penn State to a 69-54 win over Clemson in the ACC/Big 10 Women’s Basketball Challenge at Myrtle Beach, SC Sunday afternoon.

Falcone also had 10 assists and four steals. For the Lady Tigers, Clemson was led by Erin Batth with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She also had one assist and one steal in 30 minutes of play. Nuria Forns had 13 points for the Lady Tigers as she hit three three-pointers. Penn State was led in rebounding by Lisa Shepherd with 10 boards.

With the win, Penn State improves to 7-2 overall, while Clemson falls to 7-3 this season. Penn State is ranked sixth in the USA Today poll and ninth by the Associated Press. Penn State jumped to an early 11-2 lead with 14:28 left to go in the first half. Garner scored seven points in this rally. The Lady Tigers came within eight points of the Lady Lions, 32-24 with 3:40 left to go in the half as Chrissy Floyd hit a jump shot.

From this point, Penn State scored six unanswered points, four by Rahana Barnes, in building a 14 point lead (38-24) Clemson came back and scored six unanswered points as Krystal Scott completed a three point play with a made free throw and Erin Batth hit a three-pointer with :20 seconds remaining. Penn State’s Lisa Shepherd scored a field goal with 10 seconds remaining to give Penn State a 40-30 advantage at the half.

In the second half, Penn State had a 48-40 lead with 12:15 remaining in the game. From this point, Penn State went on an 8-0 run and took a 56-40 lead with 8:44 remaining. Helen Darling scored four of her six points in this Lady Lion rally.

Penn State shot 18-33 from the field for a .545 pct. in the first half, while Clemson shot 12-29 from the floor for a .414 mark. Penn State shot 11-37 from the field in the second half for a .297 pct. and finished the game 29-70 from the floor for a .414 mark. Clemson shot 10-32 in the second half (.313) and finished the game 22-61 from the floor for a .361 figure.

The Lady Lions outrebounded Clemson 47-37 and had 19 offensive boards.

“Penn State is so quick and athletic,” said Clemson Head Coach Jim Davis. The absence of our inside game was apparent. I am disappointed that we were not able to penetrate their defense. I also thought we did not do a very good job in taking care of the basketball. We need to be more creative off the dribble. We had a chance to cut the lead to six midway in the second half but could not capitalize. We are a young team and we did not get off to a great start. I think our players fought hard and kept playing hard. I think we learned some valuable lessons today that will help us along the way. Andrea Garner is a great player and I thought Rashana Barnes did a great job coming off the bench for Penn State.”

“Our goal is to win the first five minutes of each half and I thought we did a good job of that today,” said Penn State Head Coach Rene Portland. “I thought we did a good job setting the tempo in the first few minutes of the game. We have a balanced attack. We did a great job rebounding and shooting from the outside. When Clemson got close and came within eight points in she second half, we went to a 2-3 zone and I think the changing defenses was a big factor in the game. I like our team because we have balance with our inside and outside games. I thought our team did a great job staying focused since we were exams last week.”

Clemson will play at UNC-Greensboro Tuesday night (December 21) at Greensboro, NC at 7:30 p.m. in the Lady Tigers last game before Christmas.