Jan. 27, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (13-7, 4-4) close out a two-game road swing at #15/15 Ohio State (15-4, 6-2) in the Big Ten Network's "Women's Basketball Game of the Week" on Monday night in Value City Arena at 7 p.m. The Buckeyes are in first place in the Big Ten standings, just two games ahead of the Lady Lions.
The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Mark Neely 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 is available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
The Lady Lions are 30-15 all-time and 17-9 in Big Ten contests against the Buckeyes. However, Penn State has lost the last seven match-ups with OSU. The two teams played to a 73-71 overtime thriller in the Big Ten semifinals last season. The Lady Lions broke the Big Ten Tournament record for field goal percentage in a half as they rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit. Penn State is 6-11 all-time in Columbus.
The last time these squads squared off was in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals when the Lady Lions rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to force overtime, but ran out of steam in a 73-71 loss to the Buckeyes. Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) had 21 points, while Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added 12 points, three rebounds and four assists in the loss. O'Rourke hit the key three-pointer with time winding down to force the extra frame.
Gissendanner has been solid against the Buckeyes throughout her career. In her six career games versus OSU, Gissendanner is averaging 16.0 points and 3.5 rebounds. Sophomore Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) is also tough against the Buckeyes last season, averaging 17.3 points and 1.7 assists in three games.
Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington was honored last week as the Division I Rising Star in the coaching ranks by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Nominations for the WBCA Superlatives were submitted through an online survey form. The top vote-getters, as selected by members of the WBCA, for each superlative were then voted on through a balloting process, with the top vote-getter for each category being named the winner.
With one assist at Wisconsin on Thursday, O'Rourke moved into a tie for 10th place with Corinne Gulas on Penn State's all-time assists chart with 379 career helpers. She is still tops in the Big Ten in assists at a 4.9 per game clip. She is also second on the squad in scoring (12.4). Additionally, O'Rourke leads all active Big Ten players in assists since the 2005-06 season.
Grant continues to lead the team and is ninth in the Big Ten in scoring with a 14.5 average. She has 741 points in 51 career games. Grant is also 15th in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.441) and ninth in blocked shots (1.1). Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) is third in scoring (12.0) and Gissendanner is fourth with an 11.5 per game mark.
The Buckeyes are ranked 15th in both polls with 15-4 overall record and 6-2 mark in Big Ten play. Freshman Jantel Lavender is averaging a double-double with 16.7 points per game and a league-best 10.3 rebounds per outing. Marscilla Packer accounts for 14.8 points and 3.1 assists per game, while Ashlee Trebilcock is averaging 10.2 tallies.
The Lady Lions return home to face Wisconsin on Kids Day at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. Kids interested in apply to get a behind the scenes look at Lady Lion game day, should send their name, phone number and email address to Rachel Rito (rar240@psu.edu).
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.