EVANSTON, Ill. - Alex Bentley scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures, and No. 18 Penn State beat Northwestern, 77-63, on Sunday.
The win was the fourth straight for the Lady Lions (20-5, 11-2 Big Ten) and moved them into first place in the Big Ten standings. Zhaque Gray scored 17 points, Maggie Lucas had 11 and Nikki Greene added 10. Talia East had 10 rebounds off the bench.
Morgan Jones scored 20 points while Kendall Hackney added 15 for the Wildcats (13-12, 3-9). Northwestern, clad in all pink as part of a breast cancer awareness event, has lost three straight and six of its last seven.
Hackney had seven rebounds and topped 500 for her Northwestern career.
PENN ST. (20-5): Nickson 2-3 1-1 5, Greene 3-5 4-4 10, Gray 8-15 0-0 17, Bentley 7-12 3-5 18, Lucas 3-15 4-4 11, Edwards 2-6 2-3 6, Studevent 0-1 2-2 2, Waldner 1-1 0-0 2, East 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 29-62 16-19 77.
NORTHWESTERN (13-12): Hackney 7-20 0-0 15, M. Jones 7-24 5-8 20, Mocchi 0-2 0-0 0, T. Jones 2-9 2-4 6, Roser 2-5 2-4 6, McKeown 0-3 0-0 0, Hale 2-3 0-1 4, Popovec 2-3 0-0 4, Cohen 2-4 3-3 8. Totals 24-73 12-20 63.
Halftime-Penn St. 41-25. 3-Point Goals-Penn St. 3-14 (Bentley 1-2, Lucas 1-4, Gray 1-7, Studevent 0-1), Northwestern 3-15 (Cohen 1-1, Hackney 1-4, M. Jones 1-6, Mocchi 0-2, McKeown 0-2). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Penn St. 42 (East 10), Northwestern 46 (Hackney, M. Jones, T. Jones 7). Assists-Penn St. 18 (Lucas 7), Northwestern 18 (M. Jones 5). Total Fouls-Penn St. 20, Northwestern 18. A-1,867.
