Feb. 13, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (13-11, 4-8) continue their three-game homestand and hope to put an end to their five-game losing streak when they host Minnesota (17-8, 8-5) at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday at 8 p.m. Fans that celebrate Valentine's Day with the Lady Lions will receive a collector's coin commemorating Coquese Washington's first victory as Lady Lion head coach while supplies last.
The "67 Women - 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania" traveling photo exhibit will continue its stint at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday. The exhibit will also be on display on the concourse for the men's game against Illinois on Feb. 16 and conclude its stint at the BJC on Sunday, Feb. 17 when the Lady Lions host Michigan State.
The games will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Kellie Goodman and Theresa Grentz calling the action. The contest can also 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 lead the all-time series by a 20-6 margin, including a 19-6 mark in Big Ten games. The Golden Gophers picked up a 67-50 win in Minneapolis on Jan. 13. Penn State is a perfect all-time in Happy Valley against Minnesota (12-0).
The last time these teams met in mid-January, the Lady Lions held Minnesota big gun Emily Fox down for most of the game, but Penn State was saddled with turnovers (18) and poor rebounding (38-25 Minnesota advantage) in a 67-50 loss at Williams Arena. Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) finished with a team-high 16 points, while Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) also reached double figures with 12 tallies to go along with two assists and three steals.
Grant reached the 800-point plateau for her career with 17 tallies against Iowa on THINK PINK Day and has 800 points in 55 career games. She continues to lead the team and is eighth in the Big Ten in scoring average with a 14.5 mark. Senior guard Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) has had the hot hand in her last three games, leading the team in scoring each outing and averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She has bumped her season scoring average by nearly a full point per game to 12.1, which is second on the team.
Three Lady Lion guards have recently moved into the career three-pointers chart. Junior Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) leads the group of sharp-shooters with 74 career triples, which is 14th on the Lady Lion career charts. Grant is 16th on the all-time list with 67 threes and Gissendanner is 17th with 66 treys. Kelly Mazzante is the Lady Lions' career leader in three-pointers with 357.
The Golden Gophers have won two-straight heading into today's match-up at the Bryce Jordan Center. Minnesota is 17-8 overall and 8-5 in Big Ten play, which is fourth in the league standings. Emily Fox paces three Gophers in double figures with a 16.7 average, which is fourth in the Big Ten. Ashley Ellis-Milan is third on the team in scoring (11.0) and leads the squad in rebounding (7.2).
The Lady Lions conclude their three-game homestand with "Senior Day" against Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Fans that attend Sunday's game will have a chance to honor lone Lady Lion senior Kam Gissendanner and will receive a Lady Lion lunchbox while supplies last. Penn State will hit the road for a two-game swing in the state of Illinois, taking on the Illini on Thursday, Feb. 21 before meeting Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 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 here on www.GoPSUsports.com.
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