Nov. 7, 2007
WBCA Classic Tournament Central
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Coquese Washington era officially begins as the Lady Lions take the court in the WBCA Classic this weekend at the Bryce Jordan Center. The three-day, four-team round robin tournament features Penn State, Arizona, Charlotte and Pittsburgh. The first 2,500 fans through the doors this weekend will receive a 2007-08 team schedule magnet.
The WBCA Classic opens with the Charlotte 49ers of the Atlantic 10 taking on the Big East Conference's Pittsburgh Panthers at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9. The Lady Lions will face off against Pac 10 foe Arizona in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's opener features the Arizona Wildcats against Pitt at 4 p.m., before Penn State meets the 49ers at 6:30 p.m. The tournament's final day will see Arizona and Charlotte collide at 1:30 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. match-up between the Lady Lions and Pitt.
Friday's game against Arizona can be seen live on WPSU with Kellie Goodman and Margo Plotzke calling the action, while Sunday's game is the inaugural women's basketball broadcast on the Big?Ten Network with Kellie Goodman and Vera Jones calling the action. All three Penn State games can be heard on the Penn State Sports Radio Network with Jerry Fisher (play-by-play) and Chris Morelli (analyst) describing play. The audio feed and a link to GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
The Lady Lions are hosting their first full tournament in Happy Valley since the 1984 Lady Lion Championship. Penn State last welcomed a regular-season tournament game to the BJC when it hosted the first three rounds of the 2002 Preseason WNIT.
This weekend marks the first time that Penn State has played Arizona or Charlotte in school history. The Lady Lions are 25-12 all-time against Pittsburgh, including a 16-1 record in Happy Valley. Penn State has won 14 of the last 17 meetings against the Panthers. However, Pitt posted a 60-51 victory over the Lady Lions last season at the Petersen Events Center.
Penn State dominated Millersville in an exhibition game on Halloween night by an 82-41 margin. Leading the way offensively was sophomore guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) with 22 points to go along with five assists and three steals. Senior guard Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) added 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Additionally, sophomore forward Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) came off the bench to nearly post a double-double with eight points and a game-best 10 rebounds, while junior point guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) turned in a solid all-around performance with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals.
This season, Penn State introduced a new seven-game Lady Lion Flex Plan package where fans will receive a ticket to the Duke (Sun., Dec. 2) and Georgetown (Sun., Dec. 9) games and the second annual THINK PINK Day versus Iowa (Sun., Feb. 10), as well as four flex vouchers to redeem in any ticket combination for Big Ten games. Fans can purchase single-game tickets or flex plan packages by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center box office, calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Lady Lions travel to Xavier on Thursday for the second-ever meeting against the Musketeers. Penn State won the only meeting between the schools last season with a 73-66 overtime decision at the Bryce Jordan Center.