July 16, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions have been selected to participate in the Third Annual Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. Penn State will face off against 2008 Final Four participant and five-time national champion Connecticut in the second game of the doubleheader, while Army and Rutgers square off in the first game of the day. Both games will be televised on ESPNU.
"We are very excited to be playing in the Maggie Dixon Classic in such a storied venue like Madison Square Garden," head coach Coquese Washington said. "I personally am looking forward to returning to the Garden where I started my WNBA career. I have very fond memories of that building. It's great to be part of a tournament that honors Maggie's legacy. Her story was inspirational and few of us will forget her contributions in such a short time at Army."
The Lady Lions return four starters and 10 letterwinners from a year ago, including third team All-Big Ten selection Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.). The senior point guard led the Big Ten in assists for the second time in her career and finished 51st nationally with a 4.7 per game mark. She was also 39th in the NCAA in free throw percentage (.838). Junior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) garnered All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades for the second time in her career after leading the team and finishing ninth in the conference in scoring (13.8).
Tickets for the Maggie Dixon Classic, starting at $15.00, go on sale Friday, July 18 at 10:00 a.m. and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.thegarden.com.
On April 6, 2006, the women's basketball community lost a very young and healthy Maggie Dixon, who died untimely from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Over the course of her six months as head women's basketball coach at the United States Military Academy she led the program to unprecedented heights. The Black Knights played their first Patriot League Championship and Dixon led her team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. During her stint at Army Dixon, through her passion, energy and love for the female cadets not only inspired the West Point community but also touched the entire nation.
Over 325,000 Americans die every year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Madison Square Garden, once again will team up with the Dixon family and the Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) Foundation, Inc., who will conduct 1,000 free EKG's during The Maggie Dixon Classic to help raise awareness of heart related illness and to promote women's college basketball.
MSG Sports Properties is part of Madison Square Garden, L.P. owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, as well as the legendary Chicago Theatre; and which manages wholly-owned live entertainment properties including the Radio City Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular; MSG Media, which is comprised of television networks MSG and MSG Plus, and MSG Interactive which oversees all company wireless and online initiatives; Fuse, the music television network; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.