Many times this season Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland has talked about the "and others".
The "and others" being junior Jess Brungo, and sophomores Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom. They are labeled that because they are the teammates of All-America candidate Kelly Mazzante. Last night against Purdue, Brungo, Wright and Strom were anything but others. With Mazzante having an off night and just 16 points from the field, the triumvirate scored 52 points to lead the Lady Lions to an 80-68 victory.
Brungo led the way with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Strom had the first double-double of her career with 14 points and 10 assists and Wright had 15 points on jump shooting.
"They have a great supporting cast, it's not just Mazzante. They all come out and play," Shereka Wright said.
Brungo had strong starts to both halves as she scored on two back-door layups to start the game and had a three-pointer to begin the second half. She looked confident with her shot throughout the game and was not hesitant to pull up from behind the arc as she went 3-for-5 from three-point land. Brungo had her way with junior forward Lindsey Hicks all night.
Controlling the tempo throughout the game was Strom who also had a good night from the outside with two three's. Her second half play was key to pulling away, as she had 11 points and 0 turnovers.
"She's leading the league in assist to turnovers," Portland said. "In the second half she did a lot more setup stuff." Meanwhile on the other end of the court, Strom and Wright did a defensive number on junior Erika Valek forcing her into seven turnovers. Wright, who was sporting a new hair-do, led the team in rebounds with five. Wright normally does her damage with penetration, but last night she had her jump shot falling and went with it. She stressed how important it was to beat Purdue in the post-game conference and her emotion showed on the court as well, as she got a double technical with Shereka Wright.
This now makes back-to-back games where Mazzante has not had to shoulder the load in a Lions' victory.
