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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Last year, Ashley Luke played behind
All-America point guard Helen Darling, who led Penn State to its
first Final Four appearance.
|  | | Penn State's Rashana Barnes soars over Old Dominion's Sharron Francis for a shot.
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Sunday, the sophomore got her first start and made an impact
immediately. She had a career-high 13 assists and 13 points to lead
the No. 13 Lions (1-0) to a 99-72 victory over No. 12 Old Dominion
(0-1) in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic.
"She was the one under the gun out there trying to replace
Helen Darling," said Penn State coach Renee Portland. "She shot
well and kept her head up. She kept the tempo and attacked their
press."
Luke also was one of three Lions with seven rebounds.
Penn State dominated the offensive boards against Old Dominion, which has lost All-America center Lucienne Berthieu for the season. Berthieu tore a ligament in her left knee Friday.
"Rebounding is a critical issue right now," said ODU coach
Wendy Larry. "We're going to find somebody in the mix who's going
to be able to step up for us."
Penn State is without captain and 3-point specialist Chrissy
Falcone. She is out for the season with a torn ligament in her
right knee.
The Lions outrebounded ODU 49-39 and got 18 points off
offensive rebounds.
Rashana Barnes had 17 of her team-high 19 points in the second
half and had seven rebounds for Penn State.
"I was running on pure adrenaline," Barnes said. "I wasn't
tired at all."
Teammate Lisa Shepherd was 4-for-4 from the foul line and
finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Hamchetou Maiga had 22 points and nine rebounds for Old
Dominion. Okeisha Howard added 20.
In a physical game from the start, ODU got into foul trouble
early. Penn State capitalized, hitting 17 of 19 from the foul line
and 20 points off turnovers in the first half.
Jessica Brungo hit two free throws midway through the first half to break a 22-22 tie. Penn State never trailed after that and led
51-33 at the half.
At one point, ODU had three freshmen and two sophomores on the
floor, and Larry chalked up many of the errors to youth.
"Credit Penn State for disrupting our timing a little bit,"
she said. "Our general right now is a sophomore and that's asking
a lot of a sophomore. We should have been better prepared, and I'll
take the blame for that. We'll continue to improve."
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Old Dominion Clubhouse
Penn State Clubhouse
UConn starts title defense with impressive victory
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Hamchetou Maiga drives the lane and gets the hoop and the harm.
avi: 1502 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Hamchetou Maiga crashes the boards and puts it back for two.
avi: 955 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ashley Luke can do it all -- and did so against Old Dominion.
avi: 1621 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Maren Walseth makes an up and under move for the layup.
avi: 396 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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