Nov. 20, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (2-0) continue their season-opening homestand against Prairie View A&M on Friday night at 7 p.m., at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions are looking for a 3-0 start to the season for the third straight year. The squad can also break the school record for consecutive non-conference home wins with a victory over the Panthers.
PROMOTIONS: Fans are encouraged to bring canned goods to Portal 15 as part of a food drive with Wegmans Food Markets. All canned goods will go to the State College Food Bank. Friday is also "Girls Scout Night" at the Lady Lion game. All Girls Scouts will receive a patch.
FOOTBALL SEASON TICKET BOGO:Football season ticket holders are encouraged to bring their Michigan State game ticket for a buy one, get one free ticket deal for the Lady Lions' game against Prairie View A&M Friday night.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions jumped out to an early lead and shot better than 53% from the field on the way to a 97-58 victory over Stony Brook at the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night. The Lady Lions notched their 15th consecutive non-conference home win to tie the school record that was set from 1984-87. Freshman guard Zhaque Gray was outstanding in just her second game as she led five Lady Lions in double figures with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. Junior guard Meggan Quinn made the most of her first start with a career-high 14 points, including a 5-for-5 effort from the free throw line, five assists and three rebounds.
QUESE AND COOP TOGETHER AGAIN: When Prairie View A&M comes to town, Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington will square off against one of her close friends and former WNBA teammate Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who is now the Panthers' head coach. The pair combined to lead the Houston Comets to the 200 WNBA Championship.
SCORING SWOON: With a 97-58 win over Stony Brook Wednesday night, the Lady Lions post the most points for a PSU team since a 101-74 victory over Maryland and Dec. 4, 2002.
SCOUTING PRAIRIE VIEW: The Panthers are 1-2 this season and are coming off of a tough 47-45 loss at Rice Wednesday night. Chari Smith had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Candice Thomas added 14 points in the loss to the Owls. Smith and Thomas are the squad's leading scorer this season as they are both averaging 10.0 points per game.
ALL-TIME VS. THE PANTHERS: This is the second meeting between the Lady Lions and Prairie View A&M. The only other outing between the squads was an 87-64 Penn State win on Dec. 23, 1988 at the Red Raider Classic in Lubbock, Texas. The Lady Lions have won all three of their games against current SWAC members.
A PENN STATE WIN WOULD:
- Make Penn State 3-0 for the third straight year.
- Be the 16th consecutive non-conference home win for the Lady Lions, dating back to 2005.
- Breaks the school record for consecutive non-conference home wins (16).
- Make Penn State 2-0 all-time versus Prairie View A&M.
LADY LIONS TIE RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE NON-CONFERENCE HOME WINS: The Lady Lions have won their last 15 non-conference games at the Bryce Jordan Center, dating back to Dec. 22, 2005, which ties the school record, set from 1984-87. Penn State's last non-conference home loss was on Dec. 9, 2005 to Marquette (73-63).
Non-Conference Home Court Winning Streaks
Gms. Began Ended Game that ended streak15 12/22/05 PRESENT --15 12/12/84 12/11/87 Virginia, 54-5912 12/0/91 2/16/93 Vanderbilt, 57-6611 1/24/78 1/6/79 Texas, 69-7610 11/15/02 12/21/03 Louisiana Tech, 84-8710 12/19/81 1/30/83 Tennessee, 60-75
MAKING THE MOST OF A FIRST START: Junior guard Meggan Quinn made the most of her first career start with a career-best 14 points, three rebounds and five assists in the 97-58 win over Stony Brook Wednesday. Quinn has made every free throw she has taken in her college career (7-for-7).
GRAY GOES CRAZY: Freshman guard Zhaque Gray was outstanding in just her second game as she led five Lady Lions in double figures against Stony Brook with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. Gray had a team-best three three-pointer and added two rebounds and an assist.
GRANT AND WOLFF REACH MILESTONES: Junior Tyra Grant and sophomore Janessa Wolff both reached milestones in Wednesday's win over Stony Brook. With 15 tallies, Grant reached the 900-point mark for her career (913), while Wolff surpassed 200 points (209) with 10 markers against the Seawolves.
The Lady Lions hit the road for four games, starting with an intrastate match-up at Pittsburgh on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center. Penn State will then travel to Malibu, Calif., for the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament at Pepperdine University where they will face # 12/7 Texas A&M in the opening round. After an ACC/Big Ten Challenge road game at Florida State on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Lady Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon. 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.