• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Lady Lions leap past Florida

Mar 26, 2014 - 1:52 AM University Park, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dara Taylor and Maggie Lucas each notched 22 points to help the third-seeded Penn State Lady Lions take down the 11th-seeded Florida Gators, 83-61, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Bryce Jordan Center.

Taylor added eight rebounds and four assists to her stat line, but turned the ball over six times for Penn State (24-7), which will advance to the Sweet 16 to meet second-seeded Stanford on Sunday. Ariel Edwards chipped in 18 points with two steals in the win.

Kayla Lewis scored 20 points and pulled down nine boards to pace Florida (20-13). Jaterra Bonds scored 14 points, and Carlie Needles added 13 points in the loss, hitting 4-of-11 from 3-point range.

Penn State took an 11-point lead as the teams broke for halftime, 43-32, after Penn State shot 42.4 percent from the floor in the frame. Florida connected on 40.7 percent of its shot attempts from the field, and hit 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.

The Lady Lions heated up in the second half, netting 52 percent of their shot tries, and made 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. The Gators buried 52.2 percent of their shots in the period, but fell behind Penn State by another 11 points.

The Lady Lions had the advantage in points off turnovers, 33-11, and held a 19-9 edge in fast break points. Penn State also outscored Florida from the charity stripe, 23-9.