Jan. 20, 2009
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (7-10, 2-5) return to the Bryce Jordan Center following back-to-back road games to face Wisconsin (14-5, 4-4) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Thursday is the first of three $1 hot dog games for the Lady Lions this season.
RADIO/WEB: A live video stream of the game is available on BigTenNetwork.com. The contest can be heard on the Penn State Sports Radio Network with Jerry Fisher (play-by-play) and Kellie Goodman (color) calling the action. The game will air locally WMAJ. The audio feed and a link to live stats are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions held the lead for much of the first half at Michigan State Sunday, but the Spartans outscored the Lady Lions 38-29 in the second frame and handed Penn State a 70-59 loss to register the season series sweep. Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke led the Lady Lion offense with 16 points to go along with three assists and three rebounds, while fellow senior Mashea Williams was 6-for-10 from the field en route to 12 points. Williams also registered seven rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Junior Tyra Grant was held to single digits for the first time this season with just seven tallies.
CAREER HIGH FOR LEWIS: Sophomore post Evelyn Lewis had a career-high eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the Jan. 18 loss at Michigan State. Lewis' previous career mark was seven points set against South Carolina in the season-opening win.
O'ROURKE EYES MILESTONE: Senior point guard Brianne O'Rourke is on pace to become the sixth player in school history to accumulate 1,000 points and 500 assists. She has 980 points and 509 assists. The other Lady Lions to accomplish the feat are Suzie McConnell, Tina Nicholson, Helen Darling, Jess Strom and Nancy Kuhl.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN: The Badgers are 14-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play this season. Wisconsin tops the Big Ten in scoring defense at a 54.2 per game clip. Alyssa Karel, who is averaging 13.2 points per game, leads the balanced Badger offensive attack. Lin Zastrow accounts for 7.2 points and a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game, while Mariah Dunham chips in 9.2 tallies per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BADGERS: The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with Wisconsin by a 23-7 margin, including a 14-1 record in home games. The Badgers swept the series last season with a 79-52 victory in Madison and a 77-59 win in Happy Valley. It was Wisconsin's first-ever win at Penn State.
LAST TIME VS. UW: The Lady Lions dropped a 77-59 decision to Wisconsin at the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 3, 2008. The win is the first-ever for the Badgers in Happy Valley (1-14). Kam Gissendanner posted her fourth double-double with a team-best 20 points and 10 rebounds. She also had a blocked shot and two steals in the loss. Sophomore guard Tyra Grant added 13 points and four assists.
GRANT REJECTS #50: Junior guard Tyra Grant became the 16th player in school history to record 50 career blocked shots with one rejection at Michigan State on Jan. 18. She is currently 16th in school history with 50 rejections, 11 behind Tanisha Wright for 15th place on the school's career chart.
TY'S DOUBLE DIGIT STREAK STOPPED: Junior guard Tyra Grant was held to just seven points in the Jan. 18 loss at Michigan State. It was the first time in 20 games that the scoring dynamo was held to single figures in the scoring column. The last time Grant was held to less than 10 points was Feb. 21, 2008 at Illinois (6 pts.).
Following the game against the Badgers and its second bye date of the season, Penn State will hit the road for games at Indiana on Thursday, Jan. 29 and Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 1. The Lady Lions are back in the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday, Feb. 5 to face Minnesota at 7 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.