| Brianne O'Rourke and the Lady Lions close out the regular season in the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State takes on Northwestern at 7 p.m. on Thursday and No. 6/7 Ohio State Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available for both contests. Call 800-863-3336 for more information. |
Penn State game notes
Big Ten notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. February 15, 2006 - Penn State will look to finish out the regular season strong with two home games this Thursday and Sunday vs. Northwestern and Ohio State.
The Lady Lions will face the Wildcats Thursday at 7 p.m. The first 2,000 fans through the gates will receive a free Rally Towel courtesy of State Farm. On Sunday, the team will face the No. 6/7 Buckeyes at 2 p.m. The game is "Fan Appreciation Day," and the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive the third set of player trading cards. Penn State is also running a special ticket promotion for that game - fans can bring any unused game ticket from earlier this season and exchange it at the ticket office for a general admission ticket into Sunday's contest. Fans who can't make the regular season-finale can catch it on TV; WPSU, CN-8 and CSTV will air it live, while FSN-Pitt will broadcast the game Monday at 1 p.m. As usual both contests will air on the Penn State Sports Network (WBUS and WMAJ locally) and GoPSUsports.com where a link to the GameTracker feature is available.
Penn State (11-14, 5-9) is coming off a bye weekend which helped the team recover from a touch of the injury bug. Starter Charity Renfro (Las Vegas, Nev.) who missed last Thursday's game at Wisconsin, is back in the lineup. The Lady Lions are led by Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) who is averaging a team-best 15.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg. Sunday Brown will match up against Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Jessica Davenport. The two centers are the only two players in the league to rank in the Big Ten top 10 in points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. Freshman Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has the charge of getting the ball to Brown. The leading Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate tops the Big Ten in assists and is the only freshman to rank in the conference top 10 in assists, steals, minutes played and assist to turnover ratio. Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) and Adrienne Squire (Indianapolis, Ind.) are also putting up double-digit scoring figures at 14.8 ppg and 12.2 ppg respectively.
The weekend will be a crucial one for the Lady Lions. Heading into Thursday's games, three teams have five Big Ten wins - Penn State, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Lady Lions could finish as high as the seventh seed or as low as the ninth seed. If Penn State secures the seventh seed, they will play the No. 10 seed in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, which begins March 2 in Indianapolis. The Nos. 8 and 9 seeds square off in another first round game. The winner of the 8-9 seed game plays the Tournament's No. 1 seed in the second round while the winner of the 7-10 seed game plays the Tournament's No. 2 seed in the next round.
Northwestern comes into Thursday's game with a 6-11, 2-12 mark. The Wildcats are led by senior guard Ifeoma Okonkwo, who is averaging 14.2 ppg this season. The 5-10 wing player is also averaging a team-best 7.4 rpg and has swiped a team-high 50 steals. Ohio State heads into its Thursday matchup at Purdue with a stellar 23-2, 15-1 mark. The Buckeyes are led by Davenport, who leads the league in scoring, rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage.
Tickets for the last two regular season games 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 call 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.