| University Park has been home to a variety of great NCAA Tournament memories. |
Fans have witnessed some incredible NCAA Tournament moments in Happy Valley over the years, and with the event making its return to the BJC in March, plenty more are sure to come.
BY Stephanie Petulla
Penn State's history as an NCAA Tournament host is a rich one. In fact, the Lady Lions will always have the distinction of playing and hosting the first-ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Game. On March 12, 1982, they welcomed Clemson to Rec Hall for an early tip by most standards that year.
"We did it [started earlier] on purpose," remembers Lady Lion head coach Rene Portland. "Everyone else started at 7:30, and we moved it back to 7 o'clock. The Clemson game was exciting and we won. We will always be first in the NCAA record books."
All told, Penn State has hosted NCAA women's basketball games on more than 20 occasions. Among those have been countless memorable moments, and University Park is looking to make more memories this year when it hosts the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds on March 19 and 21. Tickets still remain for those contests, but for now?a walk down memory lane.
To read the rest of this story, pick up your copy of the Lady Lion GameDay program at Sunday's 2 p.m. game vs. Ohio State.