LEWISBURG - Maggie Lucas scored 22 points to help No. 16 Penn State beat Bucknell 78-54 on Wednesday night in the Nittany Lions' final non-league contest before Big Ten play starts next week.
It was Lucas' fourth straight game topping 20 points for Penn State (10-2), which is now off until Dec. 30 when it opens conference play against Nebraska.
"Coach and I have talked about my shot selection a lot and I don't think I forced many shots [tonight]," Lucas said.
Lucas shot 7 of 10 from the floor, including 4 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc.
Penn State led by just three points early in the first half, but coach Coquese Washington switched to a 2-3 zone defense. That sparked a 16-5 run that saw the Nittany Lions open up a 25-11 advantage after an Alex Bentley layup with 7:14 left in the first half.
Bucknell (2-10) never cut the deficit to less than double digits again.
"The zone allowed us to go to a bigger lineup," Washington said
The Nittany Lions took advantage of 24 percent shooting by the Bison in the first half and rolled to a 16-point halftime advantage. Bucknell would cut the lead to 14 twice early in the second half, but the Nittany Lions used a 15-5 run to take a commanding 51-27 lead on Zhaque Gray's 3-pointer with 15:15 left in the game.
Nikki Greene and Alex Bentley each had 11 points for Penn State.
Felicia Mgbada led Bucknell with 12 points.
PENN ST. (78): Edwards 2-4 2-4 7, Greene 5-9 1-2 11, Gray 3-8 0-0 8, Bentley 5-11 0-0 11, Lucas 7-10 4-4 22, East 3-7 0-0 6, Studevent 1-3 0-0 2, Wolfe 3-5 3-3 9, Waldner 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 30-60 10-13 78.
BUCKNELL (54): Mgbada 6-10 0-0 12, Voss 5-9 0-0 11, Horbatuck 1-4 3-6 5, Romine 3-16 0-0 7, Chukwuedo 3-8 0-0 7, Dunn 2-7 0-0 4, Baxter 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 1-5 0-0 3, Trotter 0-4 1-2 1, Heider 1-1 0-0 2, Dotson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-66 4-8 54.
Halftime-Penn St. 34-18. 3-Point Goals-Penn St. 8-13 (Lucas 4-4, Gray 2-4, Bentley 1-2, Edwards 1-2, Studevent 0-1), Bucknell 4-18 (Chukwuedo 1-2, Voss 1-2, Harris 1-3, Romine 1-8, Trotter 0-3). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Penn St. 38 (Greene 9), Bucknell 38 (Horbatuck 10). Assists-Penn St. 19 (Bentley 7), Bucknell 13 (Romine 4). Total Fouls-Penn St. 13, Bucknell 8. A-1,490.
