Sept. 30, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Former Lady Lion standout Helen Darling and the San Antonio Silver Stars advanced to their first-ever WNBA Finals with a 2-1 series win over the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference Final. The Silver Stars will take on the Detroit Shock in the best-of-five championship series, beginning in the San Antonio on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m., on ESPN2.
The Silver Stars, who owned the best record in the WNBA during the regular-season (24-10), are making their first appearance in the WNBA Finals, while Detroit (22-12) is in the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive season. The Silver Stars won both regular-season meetings against the Shock.
Darling, who is making her first career WNBA Finals appearance, is in her second season as a member of the Silver Stars and her seventh season in the WNBA overall. She averaged 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Darling ranked 19th in the WNBA in steals per turnover (0.73) and 17th in the league in steals per 40 minutes (2.28).
The Lady Lions being the 2008-09 campaign with an exhibition game against California (Pa.) on Sun., Nov. 9, before opening the 2008-09 regular-season campaign with a three-game homestand against South Carolina (Sun., Nov. 16), Stony Brook (Wed., Nov. 19) and Prairie View A&M (Fri., Nov. 21). For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.
Penn State will also participate in the Third Annual Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden on Sun., Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. where it will face perennial national contender Connecticut, a game that will be televised on ESPNU. A Penn State block of tickets for the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden, starting at $15.00, are available; please call 1-800-NITTANY to purchase tickets in the block or for more information. The Lady Lion Cager Club is planning a bus trip for the Maggie Dixon Classic, for more information visit www.LadyLionCagerClub.com.
2008 WNBA Finals Schedule
Game 1: Detroit at San Antonio, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2: Detroit at San Antonio, Friday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 3: San Antonio at Detroit, Sunday, Oct. 5, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 4: San Antonio at Detroit, Monday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) *
Game 5: Detroit at San Antonio, Thursday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) *
* - if necessary