Feb. 6, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (13-9, 4-6) travel to head coach Coquese Washington's home state of Michigan to take on the Wolverines (12-9, 5-6) on Thursday at Crisler Arena at 7 p.m. Penn State came up short in its last visit to Crisler Arena and the Wolverines are tough at home this season with an 8-1 mark.
The contest 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 lead the all-time series with the Wolverines by a 22-6 margin, including a 20-5 advantage in Big Ten games. Penn State has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Michigan, including a 68-57 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 20, 2008. The Lady Lions are 10-3 all-time in Ann Arbor.
In the first meeting of the season, the Lady Lions posted a 68-57 victory over Michigan in front of nearly 6,000 fans at the BJC on Jan. 20. Junior guard Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led four Lady Lions in double figures with 14 points to go along with eight assists and four rebounds. Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio), Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.) and Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.) added 12 points apiece. Gissendanner also accounted for six rebounds and three steals, while Williams pulled down six boards and had two steals.
O'Rourke reached the 700-point plateau for her career with eight points in the Feb. 3 loss to Wisconsin. With 268 points on the season, she has already surpassed her single-season totals for her first two seasons in a Lady Lion uniform. She had 227 tallies as a rookie and 205 last year. O'Rourke also continues to lead the Big Ten and is 43rd in NCAA Division I with a 4.8 assist average. She is also 15th in the conference in scoring (12.2).
Sunday was a career day for sophomore Meredith Monroe (Olney, Md.) who connected on all five of her shots (1-for-1 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line) en route to a career-high six points versus Wisconsin. She also set career marks for free throws made, attempted and percentage. Grant was also solid against the Badgers, scoring nine of her 13 points and handing out three of her four assists in the second half.
The Wolverines are in the midst of a three-game slide to fall to 12-9 overall and 5-6 in conference play. Michigan is 8-1 in the friendly confines of Crisler Arena with the lone loss coming on Monday to Illinois. Krista Phillips has been solid for the Wolverines, leading the team in scoring (11.0), rebounding (6.0) and blocks (35). Carly Benson is also averaging double figures with a 10.0 per game mark.
The Lady Lions return to the BJC for a three-game homestand on Sunday with the Second Annual THINK PINK Day proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 12 p.m. against Iowa. Penn State will donate $1 of every single-game ticket sold for THINK PINK Day to the fundraising efforts. Two-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs will be on the concourse signing autographs for a $5 donation from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. The Lady Lions will then take on Minnesota on Feb. 14 and Michigan State on Feb. 17.
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.
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