10 I THURSDAY, DEC. 2, 2010 Resume, fan base hurt in loss By Andrew J. Cassavall THERE'S a funny thing about scheduling quality nonconferenc nents to try and boost an NCAA tournament resume. If you don't win those games, it usually doesn't mean much. In the Penn MY OPINION State basketball program, a lot has been made recently about strength of schedule, specifically outside the Big Ten. Two tourna ments ago, Penn State was on the outside look- mg in e ecause o its November MEN'S and December BASKETBALL cupcake-fest. Well, when the schedule came out this season, three opportunities against BCS conference teams loomed. After a 62-39 loss to Maryland last night, the Nittany Lions are now 0-2 in those games, with Game 3 a December 12 trip to Virginia Tech the toughest of those contests. "That's two games we had an opportunity to really help our selves and our resume, and we let these one's slide," said senior point guard Talor Battle, who, as happened so often in last sea son's January swoon, led the Loss From Page 8 Terrapins (6-2) have won six straight games in annual head to-head competition between two of the country's premiere confer ences. The Lions jumped to a 7-0 start in the first half, thanks in large part to Maryland's six turnovers in the first four minutes. Yet Penn State shot just 3-for -11 from the floor during that stretch and didn't improve much from there. The Terrapins cruised to an 11- 2 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. "We came out running the floor well, playing defense," senior Jeff Brooks said. "The next thing you know, it's just a cold streak We Fouls From Page 8 away the Lions' early momen tum. started out kind of hot," Brooks said. "I got an offensive rebound, stuck it back and then I got a dunk The next thing I know I had two fouls and I was on the bench for 11 minutes. I think that's going to be stressed a lot for the rest of the season, trying to stay out of foul trouble early." Brooks, who has been a cata lyst for Penn State so far this sea son, never got going after his sec ond foul as he said it took away any rhythm he had. With the fouls adding up early, the Lions were forced to make adjustments and dip into their bench to try to contain Maryland's strong frontcourt. Nevertheless, Penn State remained competitive in the first half. Nickson on good terms and still talks with some of the Eagles players on a From Page 8. weekly basis. In fact, it was a Boston College player who first said. "I haven't seen an increase informed Nickson the two teams in her energy and her intensity would be playing. [for this game] because she's Though she's excited to go always intense, she's always back and play at Boston College's focused and she's always ready Conte Fbrum, Nickson said it's to go." just another game. Nickson said there's no added This season, Nickson is aver motivation because of the oppo- aging 8.1 points per game and 3.7 nent. rebounds per game off the bench. She said she left the program The Lions will be trying to win Lions in scoring while the rest of the team went cold. But aside from the all-impor tant March resume, there may be another, more important effect of last night's loss on the Penn State hoops program. Many of the 9,078 who came to the BJC, might not be coming back at least not this year. If the Lions lose to a Virginia Tech team that took Big Ten frontrunner Purdue to overtime Wednesday, they'll enter Big Ten play without a defining win. Then, Penn State will play two of its better conference home games of the season against the Boilermakers and No. 6 Michigan State while the stu dent body is on its winter break Fbr all the heat Penn State takes for poor attendance, in a normal year the Bryce Jordan Center would sell tickets when those types of big names come to town. They sold tickets last night, after all. And the fans were treated to an early December basketball game in every sense of the phrase. The Lions were 3- for-27 from 3-point range and allowed 19 Maryland points off turnovers. Perhaps worse for the pro gram, Nittany Lion fans, who haven't gotten to watch the team much this year, didn't get to see the biggest bright spot of the early season. Jeff Brooks, who came into the contest averaging 16 points, missed significant "This is just one of those games that you just want to forget about." just couldn't make baskets Toward the end of the first half, as Penn State drove to the bas ket, one fan shouted: Just shoot layups!" The Lions were also hindered by foul trouble, with seniors Brooks and D.J. Jackson benched for the last ten minutes of the first half with two fouls apiece. Battle finished the night with a game-high 21 points. No other Penn State player had more than six points. - We just couldn't convert any thing into the basket," coach Ed "It hurt us a little bit." "It hurt us a little bit but we were still right in the game with a chance to come back in the sec ond half down six," Talor Battle said. However, other than Battle, none of the other Lions were able to contribute much as the early fouls set them back for the rest of the game. Maryland's Jordan Williams and his linebacker physique did n't help either. Over and over again, the 6-foot-10 and 260 pound forward barreled to the hoop at will with the Lions unable to keep up playing in foul trouble. Aggressively double teaming Williams early in the first half, the foul trouble forced Penn State to ease up on the Terrapin forward time with foul trouble and fin ished with just six on Wednesday. His early foul trou ble took both the Lions and the crowd out of the game. The whited-out crowd was as loud as it would be all night in the first four minutes, and when the Nittany Lions jumped out to a lead their early mistakes were aggressive ones. Multiple jump shots hit back rim a classic sign of over-excitement and on a fast break sophomore point guard Tim Frazier overran his own dribble. But those forgivable aggres sive mistakes quickly turned to unforgivable sloppy ones, and the chance at a statement win was lost. We'll be making Super Bowl picks or talking pitchers and catchers by the time there's another marquee game at the Bryce Jordan Center at least one with the student body actu ally on campus. Last Saturday the university opened dorms early for students to get back in time for an end-of season football game against Michigan State. It's a safe bet fans won't be clamoring for residence halls to open a bit early when the bas ketball team hosts the Spartans Saturday. Jan. 8. Andre‘A J. Cassaveil is a senior major ing in journalism and is the Collegian's NCAA basketball columnist. His e-mail address is ajcs23B@psu.edu. DeChellis said. "Sometimes there were some tough shots, trying to take tough shots...l think the idds worked hard, they com peted.- "'They] just couldn't make enough baskets to kind of get us going and continue to get us going:* With eight minutes left in the second half, a large contingent of fans began to file for the exit. "This is just one of those games that you just want to for get about, - Battle said. To e-mail reporter: exkso49@psu.edu and altered how Penn State went after Maryland's bulky front court. With Brooks and Jackson watching from the sideline, Penn State's bench couldn't muster any offense as it contributed only three points all game. Jeff Brooks finished the game with four fouls while Jackson, Tim Frazier and Billy Oliver all picked up three apiece. With Penn State's depth thin up front, Maryland was able to do what it wanted to accomplish by forcing DeChellis to sub his play ers out often. However, the early foul trouble never altered the Terrapins gameplan despite affecting Penn State's. - We did feel we had more guys playing and if we could get to the bench that would be a good thing for us but that's the way we play," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "In other words, we didn't change anything." Talor Battle To e-mail reporter: adal47@psu.edu their first ACC , Big Ten Challenge game since the 2007- 08 season when they beat No. 10 Duke. And Nickson is glad she's a part of the team trying to do it. - It's a great decision for me to come here." Nickson said. - The support, academically, is phenomenal. I wouldn't trade that for the world. Regardless. this is where I'm supposed to be. I know that" To e mail reporter: rmlsl3B@psu.edu • VS7"41110 Satiardilly, COG 4 4P 3:30 pen DELAWARR Third Jersey Auction bid on your favorite player's jersey during the game! $5 students / $7.50 adults Advanced tickets available @ rink tilicalrB(Bl4) 863-2037 lON " eitiec, 02) st Am/omil l° -1111011111111 sbnoidio.,6l SPORTS Talor Battle Rookies From Page 8 defensive lineman and made the switch this summer. Obviously, Okoli would never discuss Eliades' career-ending injury in a positive light. After Eliades got hurt against Temple, Okoli said as much. But the truth of the matter is that when he heads into his senior year, he'll have nine starts under his belt. What has he learned in those starts? "Just with the reads, every thing's slowing down," Okoli said. "I'm getting better at pass rush and I'm getting better at punch ing." Okoli's situation is by no means the only one. Defensive linemen Jordan Hill and DaQuan Jones earned time because Jack Crawford and Eric Latimore missed games because of injuries. When Nick Sukay and Andrew Dailey went down at safety, red shirt freshman Malcolm Willis filled in nicely. His current safety counterpart, Drew Astorino, said he's been pleasantly surprised by the young players who may have been thrust into the spotlight prematurely "They've done great, they really have, and they've stepped up," Astorino said. "I can really speak for Malcolm because he's right there on the field making plays. I'm speaking to him every time, and he's really been phenomenal." All season long, Joe Paterno has called this year's team a Quilico From Page 8 'How am I going to tell her that I want to quit?' I found out she quit, and it just made my decision a lot easier because it would have been hard to go through that whole experience without her- Eichler went back home . to USC, while Quilico found a home as a defensive specialist on the Penn State women's volleyball team. Now a senior heading into her final NCAA tournament this weekend, opening up with a first round matchup against Niagara at Rec Hall, Quilico has no regrets about her journey. Growing up in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Quilico always thought she'd stay near home to play col lege volleyball. But as she got older and traveled more, she real ized getting a new experience in a different place would be a great opportunity. That's when she looked at Penn State, met coach Russ Rose and realized Happy Valley was the place for her. However, Boston College offered Quilico a full scholarship while she had only a partial offer from the Nittany Lions. When her best friend committed to play for the Eagles, it was a convenient alternative for Quilico. Though she had a short stay in Boston, Quilico enjoyed her time there. "I loved the school. I had a great experience there. Boston is a magical city," Quilico said. "I just wanted something more out of my volleyball and my college career, and Penn State was per fect." She's certainly got a lot out of her time as a Lion, as Quilico has been part of the 2008 and 2009 NCAA championship teams. Her drive to succeed can be traced back to her time growing up in California. In an attempt to be like her older brother, Dan, Quilico played roller hockey. Along with 11 years of gymnastics where she flipped and tumbled, she developed a fearless attitude. That's often on display during Penn State matches when she's continuously hustling and con stantly diving on the court. During her high school years, Quilico was the libero for Gene's Team Volleyball Club, coached by volleyball great Gene Selznick who coached Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. As the libero for the 2006 Junior THE DAILY COLLEGIAN "We came closer as the year went on." Doug Klopacz center young one. He even cited the youth as one of the deciding fac tors in his desire to return next season. Senior center Doug Klopacz won't return, but he said the three returning starters on the line have come together as the year went on, and they'll continue to develop. "We came closer as the year went on," Klopacz said. "It was the first time a lot of us were really playing together in a lot of the early games. With a few games under our belts, I felt we really came with cohesiveness." As for his open center spot, Klopacz said he expects to see a competition between sophomore Matt Stankiewitch and freshman Ty Howle. He said of both of them, "Everything a center needs to have, they have it." For the most part, when the 22 starters take the field for next sea son's opening game, many will have gained vital experience in the 2010 campaign. "You're going to go back and look at every single game and every single person that is coming back is going to be better," Astorino said. "We're going to jell more, and we're going to get it done.-s To e-mail reporter: ajcs23B@psu.edu Olympic bronze medalists, Selznick said the 5-foot-1 defender had quickness, good hands and great technique. He said Quilico was a "mar velous volleyball player" and "the best libero in the country" when she played for him. Selznick believed defensive abil ity was on display during last sea son's national championship victo ry against Texas saying she was as big a part of the final few points as anyone. "She dug all the balls. She did it all, said Selznick, captain of the U.S. National Team for 17 consec utive years. "They couldn't put one ball down on her. She dug them all up and they put them away. I gave her all the credit for the end of that tournament." Coming up with great perform ances is something made possible for Quilico by the two Hall of Fame coaches she's worked with. The senior said Selznick and Rose have a very similar coaching style, as well as alike personalities. She said each coach holds players to a high standard on the court, but they're caring and supportive off the court. With her time at Penn State nearing its end, Quilico and the Lions will look to finish the year strong in pursuit of the program's fourth straight NCAA champi onship. According to Rose, Quilico got off to a strong start in her effort to help the team defend its title. He said of all the seniors, he was most pleased with her performance in the regular season finale against Minnesota. - Cathy is bright, is a good listen er and is a fearless kid. Those are great characteristics," Rose said. "When it comes to giving someone a scouting report and telling them what to do and where to go, she's great." Though it took her a little longer than expected to become a Lion, Quilico is happy she's here. She said Penn State is the right place for her, and she loves the program more than anything. As a senior looking back, she said wouldn't alter the course of her journey "I learned so much. I've met the greatest people. I've experienced amazing things," Quilico said. "I have a whole new family, and I have a new tradition of this school. All the experiences this team has gone through, I couldn't ask for anything better." To e-mail reporter: rmlsl3B@psu.edu
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