Dec. 2, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (4-2) close out their four-game road trip when they travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to face Florida State (5-2) Wednesday in the Second Annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip. Last season, the Lady Lions upset #10 Duke, 86-84, in the Challenge with a last-second basket by Janessa Wolff.
RADIO/WEB: The game can be heard on the Penn State Sports Radio Network with Jerry Fisher (play-by-play) describing play. The game will air locally WRSC. The audio feed and a link to GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions split a pair of games at the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament in Malibu, Calif. with a tough 61-57 loss to No. 8/5 Texas A&M in the first round of the tourney and a 76-61 win over Coppin State in the consolation game. Senior Brianne O'Rourke and sophomores Julia Trogele and Janessa Wolff all recorded double-doubles to lead the Lady Lions over the Eagles, while junior Tyra Grant had 22 points and a career-high six steals to lead Penn State in the loss to the Aggies.
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE: The Seminoles, a preseason Top 25 team, are 5-2 on the season and are coming off of an 80-74 loss to Valparaiso Saturday. Jacinta Monroe leads FSU in scoring (15.7), rebounding (8.1) and blocks (11). Cierra Bravard (13.0 ppg) and Tanae Davis-Cain (10.0) are also averaging double figures for the 'Noles.
ALL-TIME VS. THE 'NOLES: The Lady Lions are 3-0 all-time against Florida State, but the two squads have not squared off since the 1990 campaign. The last times the teams met, Penn State posted an 83-73 win over the Seminoles in the NCAA Tournament in Tallahassee.
LAST TIME VS. FSU: The last time these squads met, Dana Eikenberg had a career-high 25 points to lead the Lady Lions to an 86-84 win over the host Seminoles in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament.
GRANT NEARS 1,000 POINTS: Junior guard Tyra Grant is closing in on becoming the 31st player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her career. She needs 10 tallies to reach the milestone. Grant has been a consistent scoring threat for the Lady Lions, leading the team in scoring each of her first two seasons in Happy Valley. Grant will be the 14th junior in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
TRIPLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE FUN: The Lady Lions had three players post double-doubles in the 76-61 win over Coppin State on Nov. 29. Brianne O'Rourke registered her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 assists, while Julia Trogele posted her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 13 rebounds and Wolff had her third career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The last time that Penn State had three players with double-doubles was against Louisiana Tech in the NCAA Regional Final on March 27, 2000 when Helen Darling (15 pts., 12 asst.), Andrea Garner (15 pts., 12 rebs.) and Maren Walseth (13 pts., 10 reb.) had double-doubles.
BRI CAREER HIGH HELPERS: Brianne O'Rourke dished out a career-high 13 assists in the Nov. 29 win over Coppin State en route to her first career double-double. The senior guard's 13 helpers are the most by a Lady Lion since Jess Strom had 13 helpers against Oklahoma State on Nov. 24, 2001. O'Rourke's total is also tied for 13th on the Penn State single-game assists list.
ROBBING THEM BLIND: The Lady Lions recorded 15 steals against Texas A&M on Nov. 28. It is the most steals by a Penn State team since the Lady Lions registered 16 steals against Old Dominion on Dec. 19, 2004. Junior guard Tyra Grant notched a career-high six steals against the Aggies, which are the most for a Penn State player since Brianne O'Rourke had seven thefts against Michigan on Feb. 2, 2006.
TIMEOUT ALL-TOURNEY: Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke and sophomore guard/forward Julia Trogele were selected to the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS All-Tournament team. O'Rourke averaged 13.0 points, 9.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds in two tourney games, while Trogele accounted for 12.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per outing.
After a four-game road trip, the Lady Lions return to the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 to face Dayton at noon. Saturday is a day full of deals for Lady Lion fans as Penn State celebrates the opening of I-99 by giving fans from Blair County, who show their Drivers License at the Box Office, a tickets for $0.99. Saturday also marks the first SUBWAY FULL COURT FOUR PACK offer of the season where fans can purchase four tickets, four soft drinks at the game and a voucher redeemable for four six inch subs at any State College Subway location for just $40. The Lady Lions will remain home to face Bucknell on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. 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.