Oct. 16, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State women's basketball team will open its 2008-09 season with its first official practice on Friday, October 17 at 5 p.m., in the main arena at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Second-year head coach Coquese Washington and 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). O'Rourke is one of 10 players in school history to tally 400 career assists and is on pace to surpass the 1,000-point plateau this season.
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). She needs 120 points to become the 31st player in school history with 1,000 career points. Also returning for the Lady Lions are senior guard Mashea Williams (Erie, Pa.), who finished fourth on the team in scoring a year ago with a 9.7 average, and sophomore forward/center Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.), who averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in her rookie season.
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.
The 2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith (formerly known as THINK PINK Day) will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first two Pink Zone events have raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Breast Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone.