12 I Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010
Scoring duel hi
By Andrew Robinson
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Mia Nickson, a redshirt sopho
more co-captain, was coining off
her first-ever
start and
career-best
against
points
Texas Tech. Erin
Anthony, a senior
forward, is the tallest player on
Army’s roster and the Black
Knights leading scorer.
Fbr the first 20 minutes of Penn
State’s 95-65 win over Army at the
Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday
night, the two waged a back-and
forth scoring duel. However,
Nickson and the Lady Lions
defense got the better of Anthony
in the decisive second half.
Win
From Page 8,
trailed in the contest, did a good
job shutting down his team to start
the second half when they
switched to a zone defense.
“They forced us to have to real
ly try to skip over them and
they’re so long and we’re not that
big,” Magarity said. “So our
turnovers just led to fast break
layups.”
“It seemed like every posses
sion was a four-point turnaround,
two we didn’t get, two they got, or
three they got.”
Sophomore forward Mia
Nickson led the Lady Lions in
scoring for the second straight
game with 23 points to go along
with five rebounds. Freshman
guard Maggie Lucas added 20
points and eight rebounds, while
sophomore guard Alex Bentley
chipped in 10 points. Coach
Washington said her team’s
defense needs to improve when
Penn State hosts Maine on
Sunday.
To e-mail reporter: |yksl42@psu.edu
Tnncnn he is there before they land. cally than they could do at [other junior Miguel Pineda sard. He
J tJuSUII He corrects every error before universities!.” still understands the noaL and
it becomes a problem, because he Jepson’s gymnasts credit him dreams that they have.
From Page 8. knows there is no room for prob- for keeping them physically and In addition to JepsonU vast
need to make sure you check into lems in Division I men's gymnas- mentally fit during the offseason, experience as a collegiate coach,
your gyms at home," he said. tics. which spans from April- he has also coached on the inter
“Today in practice, we need to The work ethic in the gym December. This is especially true national level. When going up
concentrate on our landings and demonstrates a thirst for perfec- for the freshmen, who are in the against other countries. Jepson
dismounts, notably on horse and tion, and for Jepson’s gymnasts, midst of making the jump from has noticed a higher level of inten
in floor.” that thirst is ambiguous. high school to college. sity at the competitions Because
As practice commences, he is “[Recruits] recognize the value “He still understands that com- of America's collegiate system,
very soft-spoken. of an education here,” he said. “I ing out of the high school pro- there is a greater team aspect
He never yells, but when some- know there have been some guys grams all the guys just got done ... on the USA squad, he said,
one makes a mistake on a routine, who wanted to do better academi- trying to make national teams," "Most countries don't haw
Wilson
From Page 8.
of the Big Ten's leading and
tallest ladies, Wilson still does
n’t talk much. Her teammates
say that's OK, though. She does
n't need to.
"Arielle's pretty quiet, but every
thing that she says means some
thing." starting freshman outside
hitter Deja McClendon said. "So I
take every word that she says to
heart."
As her collegiate career winds
down one that she hopes ends
with an unprecedented fourth con
secutive national championship
ring Wilson said she has grown
out of her shy stage. In fact, she
said she considers herself a
leader.
And that’s the biggest thing the
soft spoken Illinois native said
she’ll take away from her time at
Penn State.
"The last three years, I kind of
just followed the lead of the upper
classmen,” Wilson said.
"But as a senior I knew I had to
step up with being more vocal. I
want to leave this program as a
»‘ s *‘*4'V*,
the. Greater
Pnilly Area?
Collegian
“We were able to run some
things and I knew at halftime
when our kid Anthony had the big
first half that they were going to
make that adjustment,” Army
coach Dave Magarity said.
“Unfortunately we knew it, and we
just didn’t react to it well.”
At halftime, Army trailed 48-35,
thanks mostly to Anthony who had
half of her team’s points with 17 on
a 7-for-9 shooting performance.
The 6-foot-2 forward also hit 2-of-3
from beyond the arc and played all
20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Nickson played 14
minutes and shot almost as well
as Anthony, going 6-for-9 from the
field.
Though the forward’s 14 points
were six more than the next high
est total, Penn State’s balanced
Woodyard
From Page 8.
field during Tuesday’s game, scoring two 3-pointers and a
breakaway dunk for eight points, a team high in the opening half.
“He made some big shots,” coach Ed DeChellis said. "He
made a big shot before the half. I thought that was really crucial.
I thought he had good rotation on his ball and I thought he was
stepping into his shot.”
With D.J. Jackson and Billy Oliver both unable to play against
Mount St Mary’s, DeChellis was forced to alter his lineup for the
game, which he said got his offensive rotation all out of whack.
Needing a player to start in place of Jackson, DeChellis said
Woodyard had the defensive experience to step in and earn the
start. He made the most of it with a number of hustle plays,
attacking the ball and crashing the boards to go along with his
eight points.
DeChellis said Oliver and Jackson's status' are still up in the
air for this weekend’s game against Virginia Tech so Woodyard
could continue to benefit from this added playing opportunity.
“He did a nice job for us and hopefully he can build on that and
have some confidence,” DeChellis said. "He made open shots for
us and that was the problem coming in."
Knowing Woodyard wouldn't try to do too much with the ball,
the coach put his faith in the sophomore guard by giving him the
start. The Maryland native didn't let DeChellis down to the point
where the coach wished Woodyard would have been able to get
more opportunities in the second half.
“I’m not even sure he took a shot in the second half and we've
got to try to get him a shot,' DeChellis said.
leader. I’ll be proud of that."
Fellow senior co-captain Alyssa
D’Errico said Wilson has always
been “a beast when it comes to the
physical parts of volleyball."
“But she didn’t really under
stand the game as a whole when
she was a freshman...and also, she
didn't really understand the lead
ership and the way that a team
worked,” D’Errico said. "Going
from there to being a senior cap
tain this year and taking on a role
of helping the team and guiding
the team is just a huge huge 180
for her.”
That’s because by nature
Wilson isn't outgoing.
Sue Keck, the director of
Wilson's high school club volley
ball team, said when Wilson first
joined the program in eighth
grade, her mother and grand
mother would come along for
team trips and tournaments.
“It took her a little time to break
into the team,” Keck said. "She
was quiet.”
So Wilson let her performance
on the court speak for itself.
When she entered high school,
she started receiving letters from
college coaches.
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offense would even itself out.
“We have so many people that
can score and so many people that
can hit shots and you can post up,”
freshman guard Maggie Lucas
said.
After her 17-point outburst in
the first half, Anthony couldn’t find
a break to start the second half.
Even when the senior managed to
get fairly open on an inbound play,
Nickson was able to swoop in and
knock the ball out of Anthony’s
hands before the Army forward
could turn to the basket.
“She was a really smart player.
She capitalized on mental lapses
when we couldn’t front her or we
didn't get help side defense fast
enough, she really took advantage
of those points,” Nickson said of
Anthony. “We locked down in the
To e-mail reporter: adal47@psu.edu
And the mail began to pile up.
"I didn't really understand what
was going on," Wilson said. "But I
knew it was definitely a good
thing."
Said Peck: "By her junior year of
high school, everyone knew who
she was.”
Because of that. Wilson had
plenty of options when it came to
choosing a college.
She took visits to a few Big Ten
schools and liked what she saw.
The very last stop on Wilson's
agenda?
A trip to Happy Valley.
"The airport, the hotel, the
scenery. I can't really describe it,”
Wilson said. "It was different than
Illinois, but I felt comfortable
there. I also appreciated how
coach [Russ] Rose was so hon
est."
So Wilson chose Penn State,
and since then has never looked
back.
Neither have her teammates,
who said Wilson is seriously com
mitted to making everyone around
her better.
Setter Kristin Carpenter said in
the Lions’ season finale a five
set loss to Minnesota Wilson
s Lady Lions’ victory
second half and limited those
touches.”
And it wasn't just Nickson. With
Army on a nearly six-minute
scoreless drought, Anthony got a
good pass in the post and was
immediately surrounded by three
Lady Lions, and the senior was
called for a travel trying to recover
the ball after she had it knocked
away.
Despite being slowed to start
the second half, the duel showed
signs of life with a little over eight
minutes left.
While both players broke the 20-
point plane, once the lead started
to inflate, Nickson sat. finishing
her night with 23 points on 8-of-13
shooting.
Anthony meanwhile, went 38
minutes, finally finishing with 28
Pair
From Page 8.
upset then-No. 9 Scott Giftin of
Penn in the semifinals before
being handed his first loss of the
season bv Letts.
Despite coming so close to win
ning his first tournament title as a
Nittany Lion. Ruth is unfazed.
"It didn't really hurt at all." Ruth
said. "Everybody goes down once
in a while. It's what you learn
from."
Just one mat away from where
Ruth tore through the bracket to
the final, his teammate Frank
Molinaro did the same in the 149-
pound class.
But just like Ruth. Moiinaro's
hopes for a first-place finish were
pulled out from under him in his
final match of the day.
In a rematch from Nov 21 when
Molinaro made his season debut,
a hard-fought 4-3 decision over
then-No. 13 Mario Mason ol
Rutgers in the Sprawl and Brawl
duals in Binghamton. N.Y. Mason
got the best of Molinaro the sec
ond time around.
Mason edged out a 3-1 sudden
approached her in the middle ol
the match.
"I dumped [the ball over the
netl a few times, and I wasn't scor
ing," Carpenter said. "And Arielle
was just like. 'Carp, stop doing
that. Now.'"
So Carpenter stopped right
away.
"Arielle's a girl who doesn't
speak a lot," junior co-captain
Katie Kabbes said. "But when she
does, everybody knows it's impor
tant, and we listen."
Kabbes would know The two
are roommates, and Kabbes said
Wilson is blunt off the court, too
Sometimes. Kabbes will ask
Wilson for advice about outfits
"And she'll tell me right up. that
does not look good.' Kabbes said.
"She doesn't say much, but says it
like it is. [Shel doesn't sugar coat
anything."
Carpenter said the Lions have a
couple rotations where she is
stacked up right next to Wilson.
Wilson will sometimes turn to
Carpenter and simply say. "Give
me the ball."
"With a figure like her, she does
n't say much, but when she does
it's like. Whoa,' " Carpenter said.
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points on a 12-of-19 showing from
the floor.
However, Nickson said she did
n't feel like she had to stay point
for-point with Anthony and she
was more focused on shutting
down her opposite.
In the end, when Anthony
became Penn State's focus, it was
Army's lack of quality around her
that spelled the Black Knights
downfall.
"I feel badly for Anthony
because she's such a terrific play
er." Magarity said
"It's unique to get a player of
her caliber at our level, and we’re
not surrounding her with kids that
can give her a little bit more sup
port right now."
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
victory win over Molinaro to take
the 149-pound title.
"It's still kind of sickening to
me." Molinaro said. “But I have to
look forward to getting back to
practice and just working harder.”
Having missed the Lions' first
four dual-meets of the season with
a broken ankle, Moiinaro's condi
tioning is still improving from the
time he missed.
The two-time All-American said
he wasn't in top condition to wres
tle Mason after a full day of com
position at the Open, but also
added that it will only be a matter
of time before he's back to full
strength. Ruth's and Moiinaro's
teammates are confident that the
two will recover mentally and
physically from the losses.
it s gonna be tough for them."
redsh,irt freshman David Taylor
said.
"No one likes losing. It's not fun.
But they'll bounce back."
Ruth and Molinaro are on the
same page when it comes to what
they'll need to do to walk away vic
torious the next time they take to
the mat.
To e-nvrt reporter massB6o@psu.edu
that." he said "At tne Olympic
games, when the guys went right
down to the end. competing for a
medal, they looked at each other
and said, this is just like being at
the NCAA championships. We've
done this before. Let's go get it.' "
No matter what level Jepson is
coaching on. he always makes
sure to instill a strong work ethic
in his gymnasts so they never lose
with regret.
"Rule No. 1 is never beat your
self." he said.
"1 pick my battles, and I don't pick
mv battles with her."
‘lf she wants the ball. I'm going
to give her the ball. She knows
what she's doing."
Kabbes said Wilson is one of the
most respected players on the
team because she backs up what
she has to sav.
'She knows this is her last go
around. so she puts it all out
there." Kabbes said.
After graduation. W'ilson a
kinesiology major would like to
continue playing volleyball, per
haps overseas in a professional
league.
Then. W'ilson intends on attend
ing graduate school to pursue a
career as an emergency room
And the thought of handling the
stress of a hectic hospital environ
ment doesn’t seem to faze Wilson
especially after growing into a
leader over the last four years.
"Being an athlete on top of a
student athlete has been a rocky
road," W'ilson said. "So emergency
room nurse? That will be a
breeze."
To e-mail reporter: exkso49@psu.edu
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