With a flick of the wrist, Penn State guard Tyra Grant sunk a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to beat visiting Wisconsin 58-56 in overtime Thursday night.
It's a heart-breaker,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""We showed enough toughness to get back in it and our kids worked hard, but we come away empty.""
Wisconsin (4-5 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) had no answer for Grant, who scored 23 of her 32 points in the second half and in overtime on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
The Badgers were led by sophomore guard Alyssa Karel with 15 points and junior forward Mariah Dunham with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Junior guard Teah Gant also added eight points and three steals for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin lost at the Bryce Jordan Center - an arena where the Badgers have amassed a dismal 1-15 record - after picking up its only win in University Park, Pa. last season.
Wisconsin rode a lead for the majority of the first half, leading by as many as 13 points on a Dunham free throw. Penn State (8-10, 3-5) responded with a pair of field goals in the final two minutes to cut the deficit at half to 24-15.
The Badgers kept the momentum, cruising to a 41-24 lead with 10:21 left in the game on a layup by sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer.
But Penn State responded with a 19-0 run to take a two-point lead on a Grant basket with 3:29 to go in the game.
""We needed to get more production out of the post,"" Stone said. ""We missed about 10 easy looks during that 19-0 run. We just couldn't get it to fall.""
Karel tied the game on a pair of free throws and Dunham hit a jumper to tie the game back up at 45 apiece with 50 seconds remaining.
Yet neither team could convert on its final possession in regulation, sending the game into overtime.
A step-back three by Grant put the Lions up 51-47 midway through the extra period, but Wisconsin went back up by one on a Karel three pointer with just under a minute to go.
Grant made a jumper and a free throw to put PSU up two, before Gant drove to the rack and tied it up with a layup.
With 14 seconds left in overtime, Grant brought the ball up the floor and called for the isolation play. Gant played solid defense, but Grant's shot found nothing but nylon to give the Lions an integral home victory.
""I felt good going into the overtime and I thought our kids showed toughness,"" Stone said. ""We just didn't finish. That's the bottom line.""
Wisconsin also finished with 20 turnovers.
Wisconsin will next travel to the Breslin Center to take on Michigan State (12-6, 6-2) Sunday afternoon. Tipoff against the Spartans is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
