| Senior All-American Tanisha Wright scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Liberty. |
Women's Basketball: vs. Liberty at NCAA Tournament, Sun. 9:30 p.m.
Listen
-->
Recent Headlines
- Liberty Upsets Lady Lions 78-70 in NCAA Tournament First Round
- Tanisha Wright Earns USBWA First-Team All-America Honors
- Strom, Wright Named Kodak All-American Finalists
- 2005 NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket (.PDF)
- Wright Nominated for Senior CLASS Award
- Wright, Strom Named First-Team All Big Ten
COLLEGE PARK, MD.; March 20, 2005 ?C How late is the start of the Lady Lions?? Sunday night NCAA Tournament first round game vs. Liberty?
??It??s past my bedtime,?? joked point guard Jess Strom.
Indeed the game, which starts at 9:30 p.m., is late. To head coach Rene Portland??s knowledge the Lady Lions have never started a game at such a late hour.
But Penn State is ready. The team practiced at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night and at 6 p.m. on Thursday in order to prepare themselves mentally to get going once the ref throws the ball in the air for the opening tip. And, as senior center Ashli Schwab said, once the game gets going, the last thing the Lady Lions will be thinking about is time. ??It??s an NCAA game,?? Schwab said. ??And it??s been two weeks since we??ve played. We want to get out there and play.??
Schwab, who says she normally doesn??t go to bed before 10 p.m., conceded that by halftime she would normally be snoozing. Because of the change in schedule, Schwab said thinks the late practices will help Penn State prepare for the long day and late game.
??It was hard,?? Schwab said. ??We were [at the Bryce Jordan Center] all day. We had lifting, then individual workouts, then dinner and practice. But the good thing is it made us prepare for a long day here, and in the long run that is going to help us out.??
Long days are tough, no question. But for the Lady Lions, at the end of this long day could be a great reward - a ticket to round two of the NCAA Championship.
Definitely worth the wait.
| Before Penn State departed for College Park, a group of Rene's Dunkers climbed aboard the team bus to deliver cards and gifts and wish the Lady Lions luck in the upcoming tournament games. |
COLLEGE PARK, MD.; March 19, 2005 ?C They're talented basketball players. They're dedicated college students. But most importantly, the Lady Lions are role models for the kids in the State College community.
Before the team embarked on its NCAA Tournament run in College Park, Md, the Penn State pep band and the Nittany Lion mascot joined forces with the Lady Lions' loyal fans to send the team off in style. Among those belting out notes to "Fight On State" were Penn State's youngest fans, who lit up when Rene Portland and her squad joined the party. The coaches and players made sure to high five every fan at the rally and the youngsters looked awestruck to be up close and personal with their heroes. Before the bus pulled away from Happy Valley, a few lucky kids got to hop aboard and give the players handmade cards and gifts.
If you've ever been to a women's basketball game at the Bryce Jordan Center, you know the rowdiest group of fans sits directly behind Penn State's home basket. A screaming mob of hundreds of wild kids make up Rene's Dunkers, and the grade-schoolers get tickets to all Lady Lions home games, opportunities to socialize with the team, the chance to attend a basketball clinic and seats in the special section near the team's bench. They also get a chance to see their role models in action, reinforcing the importance of teamwork, sacrifice and effort.
The Lady Lions get something in return from the kids' club. Senior Jenny Brenden, who enters her final NCAA tournament coming off a career game against Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, said the team feeds off the enthusiasm and energy that Rene's Dunkers bring to each home contest. [click to play]
That energy promises to be in full force Sunday vs. Liberty. Hundreds of Penn State fans are making the trip south, hoping to bring Penn State a bit of home as the Lady Lions aim for a fourth-straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Be sure to check back here on Sunday for pictures and stories from the NCAA tournament first round game against Liberty.