Nov. 7, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State women's basketball team takes to the floor for the first time this season as the Lady Lions face California (Pa.) in an exhibition game on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game is part Sunday's men's and women's doubleheader with the Nittany Lion basketball team taking on Bloomsburg at 2 p.m.
Tickets to the doubleheader are $5 for general admission and free for Penn State students with an ID card. Lady Lion basketball posters for the 2008-09 campaign will be handed out at the gates on Sunday while supplies last. A link to GameTracker is available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
The Lady Lions have never met the Vulcans during the regular season. Penn State has a 61-46 all-time record against current PSAC schools with a majority of those contests coming in the first 15 years of the program. Sunday also marks the return of Lady Lion legend Jess Strom as a member of the California (Pa.) coaching staff. Strom, who is in her third season with the Vulcans, is fourth on Penn State's career assists chart with 776 helpers. She also ranks 11th on the Lady Lion career scoring list with 1,466 tallies.
Third team All-Big Ten selection Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) headlines a list of 10 returning letterwinners, including four starters. 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 Vulcans used a 20-4 run in the second half en route to a 72-58 exhibition game victory over Appalachian State. Junior guard Brooque Williams scored a game-high 24 to lead Cal. The Vulcans are ranked No. 2 in the 2008-09 Women's Division II Bulletin preseason poll, released recently by SmallCollegeHoops.com.
The Lady Lions being the 2008-09 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.