| Leading Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate Brianne O'Rourke and the Lady Lions take to the road to face Indiana on Thursday at 7 p.m. Penn State returns home on Sunday for a 1 p.m. matchup vs. Illinois. |
Penn State game notes
Penn State has three home games left! Click here to buy tickets
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. February 5, 2006 - The Penn State women's basketball team (10-12, 4-7) will look to avenge its New Year's Day loss to Indiana when the Lady Lions take on the Hoosiers Feb. 9 in Bloomington at 7 p.m.
Fans can hear the game on the Penn State Sports Network and on GoPSUsports.com where a link to the GameTracker feature will also be available.
Penn State leads Indiana, 23-4, overall and 18-3 in Big Ten games. The Hoosiers upset the Lady Lions, 54-50, on New Year's Day at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was the first time Indiana had ever won in Happy Valley. Penn State is 8-2 overall in Bloomington, and has won the last five games played there.
Penn State is coming off a tough loss at home to No. 8 Purdue. Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) tallied a career-high 29 points in that game to go along with eight rebounds. Leading Big Ten freshman of the Year candidate Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) handed out eight assists. Those eight were enough to move her past former Kodak All-American Helen Darling into fourth place on the Penn State single-season freshman assist chart with 122 assists in her young career.
O'Rourke, who was the first player in the Big Ten to eclipse the 100-assist mark this year, has been seeing the court especially well as of late. The 5-6 point guard is averaging nearly 8 assists per game over the last three contests
The Lady Lions will also be relying on All-Big Ten candidate Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.), who is averaging 16.8 ppg in Big Ten games, which ranks third in the Conference. Gissendanner averaged 14.7 ppg in the non-conference season, a set of games that included her 34-point output vs. Texas Tech. But in the tough Big Ten Gissendanner has cranked it up even more, and is quickly making a name for herself around the league.
Indiana (12-10, 6-5) is in sixth place in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are led by Cyndi Valentin, who is averaging 17.3 ppg, which also ranks fifth in the Big Ten. Jenny DeMuth is averaging 14.0 ppg and a team-high 7.4 rpg. The Hoosiers are one of the Big Ten's top defensive teams, holding their opponents to under 60 points a contest, which ranks third in the Big Ten. The team also ranks in the top five of the conference in free throw percentage (No. 5, .731), field goal percentage defense (No. 3, .385), 3-point field goal percentage defense (No. 2, .294), rebounding defense (tNo. 2, 33.0 rpg) and defensive rebounds (No. 2, 25.3 drpg).
Penn State returns home Sunday, Feb. 12 to take on Illinois at 1 p.m. ET. That game will air live on Comcast Sports Net. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free rally towel courtesy of State Farm. Following the game vs. the Illini, Penn State has two more home games. First the Lady Lions host Northwestern on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. Next Penn State welcomes Ohio State in the regular season finale on Sunday Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.
Single games tickets for the three remaining home games are still available. Tickets can be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket windows weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fans can also get tickets by calling 800-863-3336 or 865-5555 locally or visit www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics. Tickets are also available by visiting the Downtown Ticket Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, and at the HUB ticket booth at the information desk. For groups of 10 or more, ticket discounts and preferred seating options are available by calling (814)863-6757.
Fans interested in buying all-session tickets for the NCAA First and Second Round Games at the Bryce Jordan Center on March 18 and 21 should contact the Penn State ticket office at 1-800-863-3336 or 814-865-5555. All-session tickets will gain the bearer entry to all three sessions. Adult all-session tickets for the six-game, two-day event are available for $42. Penn State students, youth under 18 and senior citizens (60 or above) can purchase tickets for only $18. Fans may also purchase tickets by downloading a ticket brochure and returning the adjoining application to the Penn State ticket office at the address provided. The brochure, and additional information on the NCAA Tournament Games at the Bryce Jordan Center are available online at http://www.gopsusports.com/BasketballW/NCAATourney/
Big Ten Tournament tickets are on sale now as well. To get tickets now, Penn State fans can go through the Penn State box office. Fans can also buy all-session tickets through Ticketmaster for $55 at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone numbers (570) 693-4100 in central Pennsylvania) or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
For group ticket information and a group order form, contact Justin Hirnisey of Indiana Sports Corporation at (317) 237-5026 or justin.hirnisey@indianasportscorp.com.