Jan. 12, 2008
Minnesota (1/13/08) Game Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (12-4, 3-1) have won their last three games and six of their last seven contests heading into a tough conference match-up against Minnesota (12-5, 3-2) at Williams Arena in Minneapolis Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. (Eastern). Penn State enters the game tied atop the Big Ten standings with Ohio State and Purdue with a 3-1 record, while the Golden Gophers sit in a third-place tie with Illinois.
The game be seen on the Big?Ten Network with Marney Gellner and Mary?Murphy calling the action. The contest can also be heard on the Penn State Sports Radio Network with Jerry Fisher (play-by-play) and Chris Morelli (analyst) describing play. Locally the game will air on the radio on WMAJ. The audio feed and a link to live stats are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
The Lady Lions leads the all-time series by a 20-5 margin, including a 19-5 mark in Big?Ten games. The teams split their two meetings last season with each team winning on their home court. The Lady Lions earned a 66-57 victory over the Gophers at the Jordan Center and dropped a 75-62 decision in Minneapolis last year. All five of Penn State's losses to Minnesota have come in Williams Arena (8-5).
In the last meeting between the two squads, Amanda Brown posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) added 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting to lead the Lady Lions to a 66-57 win over the Gophers on Feb. 15, 2007. Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) came off the bench to score 11 points in the win.
In three career games against Minnesota, Gissendanner is averaging 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has also found success against Minnesota, averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 assists in three career games.
The Lady Lions are 11th in the RPI?Report released by the NCAA on Jan. 11. Penn State, which was eighth in the first report released by the NCAA on Jan. 8, is first among the Big Ten teams, 14 spots ahead of the next Big Ten team on the list, Minnesota, which is 25th in the report.
Last time they were on the court, the Lady Lions moved into a tie for first place in the Big Ten as they led wire-to-wire on the way to a 72-53 victory over Northwestern Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. Gissendanner finished with 18 tallies on 6-of-12 shooting, while Grant led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting and tied her career high with three blocks. O'Rourke registered her fourth double-digit assist performance of her career with 10 helpers against the Wildcats. O'Rourke's last double-digit assist effort came on Dec. 3, 2006 when she had 11 dimes against Old Dominion.
In just two and a half seasons, Gissendanner became the 30th player in Lady Lion history to reach the 1,000 points with a jumper at the 16:04 mark in the first half of Thursday's victory over Northwestern. Gissendanner surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career earlier this season as she scored 24 in one season at N.C.?State.
The Golden Gophers are 12-5 overall on the season and 3-2 in Big Ten action. Emily Fox has been outstanding for Minnesota, averaging 17.9 points and 4.2 assists per game.?Leslie Knight is also averaging double figures at a 12.1 clip, while Ashley Ellis-Milan is third on the team in scoring (10.3) and tied for the lead in rebounding (7.5).
The Lady Lions are back in the BJC for two key Big Ten contests against Purdue on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. and Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 20. The game against the Boilermakers can be seen on the Big Ten Network and the Wolverines contest will air on WPSU. Penn State is back on the road at Wisconsin on Thursday, Jan. 24.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets 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 second annual THINK PINK Day is slated for Sunday, Feb. 10 versus Iowa at noon. For more information on THINK PINK Day, visit Penn State's official THINK PINK website at www.gopsusports.com/thinkpink.