Jan. 9, 2008
Northwestern (1/10) Game Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (11-4, 2-1) return to the Bryce Jordan Center in search of their third-straight win as Northwestern (4-11, 0-3) visits on Thursday at 7 p.m. Fans will have an opportunity to win a $250 gift card from US Airways with the University Park Airport paper airplane contest at halftime of Thursday's game. Entry forms, which will double as the paper airplane, will be available at all gates.
Following the game, the THINK PINK Ball Launch will debut. The launches will take place on Jan. 10, 17 and 20 and Feb. 3 following the Lady Lion game. Ball are available for $2 each or 3 for $5 at Portal 15 of the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans that make their ball in the can will have an opportunity to select from the Think Pink prize pool.
The game can 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 GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
The Lady Lions leads the all-time series by a 24-6 margin, including a 21-5 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 an 85-53 victory over the Wildcats at the Jordan Center last season to open their Big Ten home slate, while Northwestern picked up a 64-61 win in Evanston. Penn State is 13-1 all-time at home against the Wildcats.
The last time the squads squared off, Amanda Brown posted a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Lady Lions dropped a 64-61 decision at Northwestern on Feb. 11, 2006. Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) added 24 points and five rebounds in the loss.
Grant loves to see Northwestern on the schedule, in two career games, the sophomore guard is averaging 21.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) has also had success in her career against the Wildcats, averaging 17.0 points and 2.8 assists in four games.
The Lady Lions are coming off of a 69-57 victory at Michigan State Saturday, which marked the 750th win in program history. Penn State, which is 750-318 in 44 seasons, is the 11th program in NCAA?Division I to have 750 all-time program wins. Juniors Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) single-handedly outscored Michigan State, 24-21, in the second half. O'Rourke scored 13 of her game-high 23 points in the second period, while Williams accounted for 11 of her 18 tallies in the closing half.
Williams was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Week after averaging 15.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals in two wins for the Lady Lions. Grant continues to lead the team in scoring at a 14.4 per game clip, while Gissendanner is just four points away from becoming the 30th Lady Lion to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
The Wildcats are 4-11 overall and 0-3 in Big?Ten play this year. Freshman Amy Jaeschke leads the team in scoring (11.3) and rebounding (7.0), while Meshia Reed chips in 10.8 tallies per outing.
The Lady Lions travel to Minnesota on Sunday, Jan. 13 for a 2 p.m. (Eastern) contest that will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Following Sunday's game, 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.
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.