| Brianne O'Rourke is leaving little doubt about who should be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The Pittsburgh native is leading all Big Ten freshmen in assists, steals and minutes played. O'Rourke will lead the way Sunday when the Lady Lions welcome No. 6 Ohio State to the Bryce Jordan Center. It is "fan appreciation day," and 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. |
Penn State game notes
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. February 24, 2006 - With one game left on the regular season schedule, the Penn State women's basketball team is looking to finish the season on a high note as it takes on No. 6/7 Ohio State Sunday at home 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 will also be saying "thank you" to its fans by giving away a variety of prizes at timeouts. 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 (12-14, 6-9) is coming off an important win over Northwestern on Thursday. Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.) turned in a strong effort, tallying her fifth double-double of the year with 25 points and 13 boards. Brown leads the team in scoring at 16.0 ppg and rebounding at 7.4 ppg. Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) is putting up 14.7 ppg while Adrienne Squire (Indianapolis, Ind.) is adding 11.9 ppg.
The game features two of the Big Ten's top post players in Brown and Jessica Davenport. Brown and Davenport are the only two players to rank in the Conference top 10 in points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. Brown is putting up 16.0 ppg (which ranks sixth in the Big Ten), 7.4 rpg (5th), 2.04 blocks per game (2nd) and shooting 59 percent from the field (3rd).
The game also features two of the Conference's top steal leaders. In Penn State and Ohio State's earlier game this year, O'Rourke was matched up against Big Ten steal leader Kim Wilburn. The Buckeye senior snagged four against the Lady Lions, but O'Rourke hung tough and finished the game with three swipes of her own. O'Rourke ranks 10th in the league in steals, and is the only freshman to crack the Big Ten's top 15 steal rankings. O'Rourke recently moved into eighth place on Penn State's freshman steal charts, and is holding court at No. 4 on the PSU freshman assist lists.
No. 6/7 Ohio State clinched its second-straight Big Ten title with a 67-58 win over Purdue on Thursday. The Buckeyes got 20 points from its leading scorer, Jessica Davenport, who also added 10 boards. On the year Davenport is averaging 19.3 ppg and 8.5 rpg, both of which top the Big Ten. Brandie Hoskins (12.3 ppg) and Marscilla Packer (10.8) round out Ohio State's top three scorers. Ohio State leads the Big Ten in a number of categories, including scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage, rebounding defense, assists, turnover margin and assist to turnover ratio. The Buckeyes are 24-2 overall and 14-1 in conference play, dropping a New Year's Day contest at Purdue.
The Lady Lions are in seventh place in the Big Ten, ahead of Wisconsin and Illinois who are tied for eighth place with Big Ten marks of 5-10. The Big Ten's tiebreaker scenario first looks at head-to-head competition. Penn State is 1-1 vs. both Illinois and Wisconsin. Wisconsin and Illinois are both 1-1 vs. each other. If head-to-head competition is tied, the Big Ten then looks at the team's record against the Conference's top seed (Ohio State). If that is tied, they go to the No. 2 seed, and so on. Number of matchups makes a difference; a record of 2-0 is better than 1-0 and 0-1 is better than 0-2. Penn State is 0-1 with one game left vs. Ohio State. Wisconsin and Illinois are both 0-1 vs. Ohio State, so Penn State would have to beat Ohio State to own the tiebreaker over both the Badgers and Illini. 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 Northwestern 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 No. 1 seed Ohio State in the second round while the winner of the 7-10 seed game plays Purdue in the next round.
Tickets for Sunday's game 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 the Indiana Sports Corporation at (317) 237-5026 or justin.hirnisey@indianasportscorp.com.