| Sophomore guard Brianne O'Rourke will lead the Lady Lions into their home opener against Syracuse Sunday. She had 15 points, five assists and five steals in the season-opening win over Drexel Friday. |
- Syracuse Game Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 11, 2006 ?? The Penn State women??s basketball team will look to improve to 2-0 on the season when the Lady Lions begin a three-game homestand against Syracuse on Sunday, November 12 at 2 p.m., at the Bryce Jordan Center. The first 2,000 fans will receive schedule magnets.
The game will be broadcast on the Penn State Sports Network, including on WMAJ locally in the State College area, with Jerry Fisher and Chris Morelli calling the action. Live stats are available on Game Tracker on www.GoPSUSports.com.
Penn State holds a commanding 15-1 all-time series lead over the Orange, who are the first of five Big East opponents on PSU??s schedule. These two teams last squared off on Nov. 30, 1993 with the Lady Lions posting a 90-53 victory thanks in part to a 21-point performance by Katina Mack. Penn State??s only loss to SU was an 82-76 overtime decision in December 1988. The Lady Lions are 34-7 in home openers since 1965, including a 7-2 mark at the Bryce Jordan Center. Under Rene Portland, PSU is 19-6 in home openers.
The Lady Lions, who are receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, started the season on the right foot with a 74-56 win at Drexel Friday night. Senior Amanda Brown (Kennett Square, Pa.), a preseason All-Big Ten choice, was impressive in her final appearance in front of her hometown crowd, notching her 10th career double-double with 18 points, a career-high 17 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists. The senior post player also surpassed the 500-rebound plateau for her career in the game.
Junior guard Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) propelled the Lady Lions to an 11-4 lead in the first 3:30 against Drexel as she scored nine of PSU??s first 11 points. She would go on to finish the contest with 15 points and four assists. Point guard Brianne O??Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who eclipsed the 1,000 minute mark in her 30th career game, had a solid all-around effort to begin her sophomore campaign with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half, five assists and five steals. Junior guard Adrienne Squire (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the fourth Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points.
Freshman Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) was impressive in her Penn State debut with a six-point, three-assist performance and sophomore forward Courtney Molinaro (Bethlehem, Pa.) was one of many bright spots on defense, grabbing seven rebounds and stealing a career-best three passes.
The Lady Lions will continue their homestand at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday, November 14 against South Carolina at 7 p.m. before facing Notre Dame on Thursday, November 16 at 7 p.m. Following the homestand, Penn State will travel to #6/6 Duke on Tuesday, November 21 before moving on to the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands over Thanksgiving. The Paradise Jam field includes first round opponent #12/11 Rutgers and potential second round foes #13/12 Arizona State and Western Kentucky.
Single-game tickets and ??Sunday FunDay?? packages for the Lady Lions may be purchased by visiting the ticket section of GoPSUsports.com or by calling the ticket office at 814-865-5555. Women's single game tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students and youth (under 18). Mini ticket plans are also available.