Feb. 10, 2009
2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State Page
The Penn State Lady Lions (9-13, 4-8) will look to build on their first true road win in more than 13 months when they travel to Wisconsin (14-10, 4-9) on Thursday for a game that will tip at 8 p.m. (Eastern). Penn State has not won back-to-back road games since the 2004-05 season. A live video stream of the game will be available on BigTenNetwork.com.
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 WMAJ. The audio feed and a link to live stats are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Penn State Lady Lions used a balanced scoring attack to end a 14-game road with a 64-56 victory over Michigan Thursday. The Lions, who won on the road for the first time since Jan. 5, 2008, had six players with eight or more points, led by junior Tyra Grant's 15 points. Grant was solid down the stretch as she was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final five seconds. Sophomore Julia Trogele was impressive in her return to the lineup as she accounted for 11 points and eight rebounds.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN: The Badgers are 14-10 overall and 4-9 in conference play, but have lost their last five games. Alyssa Karel leads a balanced attack for Wisconsin, averaging 13.0 points per game. Lin Zastrow is second on the team in scoring at a 6.9 per game clip and leads the squad in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Five Badgers are averaging better than six points per game this season.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BADGERS: The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with Wisconsin by a 24-7 margin, but are just 7-6 in games played in Madison. The Lady Lions overcame a 17-point deficit with 10 minutes left to post a 58-56 overtime win in the first meeting of the year between the squads on Jan. 22. The win snapped a two-game losing streak to the Badgers, who swept the series last season with a 79-52 victory in Madison and a 77-59 win in Happy Valley.
LAST TIME VS. UW: Tyra Grant scored 32 of Penn State's 58 points and connected on the game-winning jumper at the overtime buzzer to help the Lady Lions erase a 17-point second-half deficit en route to a 58-56 overtime win versus Wisconsin Thursday night. The junior guard, who recorded the second 30-point game of her career as she, scored 12 of PSU's 13 points in overtime. Sophomore Julia Trogele was the only other Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
GRAY'S PERFECT NIGHT: Freshman Zhaque Gray was a spark off of the bench for the Lady Lions at Michigan as she was on fire it the first half. She scored 11 points in the opening frame on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting effort, including a 3-for-3 mark from three-point range. It is the third double-digit scoring performance of her career.
IN THE GAME: Despite their 4-8 record in conference games, the Lady Lions have been competitive in every game in Big Ten play. Penn State has lead at some point in all 12 Big Ten contests and has led nine games by six points or more. In six of those outings, the Lady Lions have held a lead of at least eight points.
ROAD SLIDE SNAPPED: The Lady Lions' 64-56 win at Michigan on Feb. 9 snapped a 14-game true road losing streak. PSU's last true road win was on Jan. 5, 2008 at Michigan State.
GRANT 16th TO 1,300: With 15 points at Michigan on Feb. 9, junior Tyra Grant became the 16th player in school history to reach the 1,300-point mark for her career. Grant was clutch for the Lady Lions against the Wolverines as she connected on all six of her free throws in the final five seconds. She now has 1,314 points in her three seasons at PSU.
WOLFF MOVES UP BLOCKS LIST: With two blocks on Feb. 9 at Michigan, sophomore Janessa Wolff moved into 17th place on Penn State's all-time blocks list, passing Jacquelyn Shook (2001-02). She has 48 career rejections in just two seasons.
The Lady Lions return to the BJC for the Third Annual WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith. Fans will receive a Pink Lady Lion Basketball hat at the gates, while supplies last, and there will be a special presentation to honor breast cancer survivors at halftime. 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. 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 online auction will kick off on Monday at noon. Items that will be available up for bid include all 13 of the uniforms worn by the Lady Lions for the Pink Zone game, as well as a one-week timeshare for anywhere in the world, Penn State football experiences and autographed memorabilia. For more information on the Pink Zone Online Auction, visit the Pink Zone auction website (http://psupinkzone.cstvauctions.com) on Monday.