Jan. 30, 2009
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions (8-11, 3-6) look to snap a 13-game road losing streak when they travel to Iowa (12-8, 5-4) on Sunday for a 2 p.m. (Eastern) tip-off. The Hawkeyes will be celebrating their WBCA Pink Zone event for breast cancer awareness.
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 calling the action. The game will air locally WRSC. The audio feed and a link to live stats are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
FIRST OF THREE PINK DAYS: The Lady Lions will participate in the first of three WBCA Pink Zone days when they travel to Iowa this weekend. Penn State will sport their pink uniforms Sunday to help raise awareness for breast cancer. The Lady Lions will host their third Pink Zone day on Sunday, Feb. 15 against the Hawkeyes at 3 p.m. and will also participate in Illinois' Pink Zone event on Sunday, Feb. 22.
SCOUTING IOWA: The Hawkeyes had a four-game winning streak snapped Thursday at Michigan State. Iowa is sixth in the Big Ten with a 12-8 overall record and 5-4 mark in conference play. Senior Megan Skouby leads three players in double figures at a 13.3 scoring clip, while Kristi Smith accounts for 12.1 points and 3.3 assists per game. Wendy Ausdemore the final Hawkeye in double figures, averaging 10.8 tallies per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE HAWKEYES: The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with the Hawkeyes by a 19-14 margin, but Iowa has won the last three meetings between the squads. Penn State is just 5-10 all-time in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes swept the series last season with a 67-58 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 28 and a 73-65 win at the Bryce Jordan Center on Pink Day (Feb. 10).
LAST TIME VS. IOWA: The Lady Lions, who donned special pink and blue jerseys, fell behind early and rallied late, but it was not enough as Iowa handed Penn State a 73-65 loss in front of 6,113 pink-clad fans at the Bryce Jordan Center on the Second Annual THINK PINK Day proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith. Kam Gissendanner had a solid all-around game for the Lady Lions with a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds, while Tyra Grant added 17 points, including an 8-for-8 effort from the free throw line.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions got off to a hot start, but could not sustain the momentum in a 65-55 loss at Indiana Thursday. Tyra Grant continued her solid play with a game-high 18 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore Julia Trogele notched her second double-double of the season with 15 points via a 6-for-9 shooting performance and 10 rebounds.
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 994 points and 516 assists. The other Lady Lions to accomplish the feat are Suzie McConnell, Tina Nicholson, Helen Darling, Jess Strom and Nancy Kuhl.
FISH CALLS #750: Longtime Lady Lion play-by-play announcer Jerry Fisher called his 750th game against Indiana on Jan. 29. Fisher, in his 30th season with the Lady Lions, is the longest tenured women's basketball announcer in Division I, according to a poll conducted by UNLV.
GRANT MOVES INTO TOP 20: With her 18-point performance against Indiana on Jan. 29, junior Tyra Grant moved into 20th place on Penn State's all-time scoring list with 1,245 points. She passed Amanda Brown (1,233), Kam Gissendanner (1,238) and Tina Nicholson (1,240) with her effort against the Hoosiers.
JT'S EARLY B-DAY PRESENT: Julia Trogele got an early birthday present when she posted her second career double-double at Indiana on Jan. 29. The sophomore tied her career high with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds on the eve of her 20th birthday.
O'ROURKE MOVES UP STEALS CHART: Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke moved into a tie for 13th place on PSU's all-time steals chart with one steal against Indiana on Jan. 29 . O'Rourke is tied with former associate head coach Annie Troyan with 187 career thefts.
The Lady Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday, Feb. 5 to face Minnesota at 7 p.m. The game against the Gophers is $1 Dog Night. The University Park Airport Paper Airplane contest will also take place at halftime where fans will have a chance to win a $250 travel voucher from University Park Airport. PSU then hits the road to face Michigan (Feb. 9) and Wisconsin (Feb. 12) before returning to the BJC for the Third Annual WBCA Pink Zone Day. 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.