Feb. 7, 2009
2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State Page
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The Penn State Lady Lions (8-13, 3-8) continue a stretch of six of eight games on the road and will look to change the tide when they travel to Michigan on Monday night for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Big Ten Network will televise the game with Mark Neely and Mary Murphy behind the mic.
TV/RADIO/WEB: The game can be seen live on the Big Ten Network with Mark Neely and Mary Murphy calling the action. The contest can be heard on the Penn State Sports Radio Network with Jerry Fisher describing play. The game will air locally WMAJ. The audio feed and a link to live stats are available at www.GoPSUSports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: Seemingly in command for much of the game, the Penn State Lady Lions were held with without a field goal for the final 2:36 of the game en route to a tough 63-61 loss to Minnesota on Thursday. Junior Tyra Grant, who was unable to connect on Penn State's final attempt to tie the game with four seconds left, continued her stellar play with a team-best 21 points for her 12th 20-point performance of the season. Sophomore Janessa Wolff was solid she hit her first four shots and finished with 11 points. She also pulled down five rebounds, had three steals and a pair of assists.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN: The Wolverines are 10-13 on the season, but have lost seven of their last eight games en route to a 3-9 mark in conference play. Jessica Minnfield is the lone Michigan player averaging double figures at a 10.4 per game clip. She also averages 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Carly Benson is second on the squad in scoring with a 9.0 average.
ALL-TIME VS. THE WOLVERINES: The Lady Lions are 23-8 all-time against Michigan, including an 10-4 mark in road games. The Lions snapped a two-game losing streak to the Wolverines with a 76-58 victory over Michigan on Jan. 4. Last season, the teams split the regular-season games with each squad winning on their home floor.
LAST TIME VS. UM: The Penn State Lady Lions overcame a sluggish start to turn in a dominating performance in a 76-58 victory over Michigan on Jan. 4. Junior Tyra Grant led four Lady Lions in double figures and posted her eight 20-point game of the season with 24 tallies on 8-of-16 shooting. Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke added 13 points, four rebounds and six assists, while Mashea Williams had 10 tallies, five rebounds and a career high-tying eight assists.
GRANT CLIMBS CAREER CHART: Junior guard Tyra Grant used a 21-point performance against Minnesota on Feb. 5 to climb four spots on Penn State's career scoring chart. She is now 16th in Penn State history with 1,299 points after passing Louise Leimkuhler (1,280 pts.), Carol Walderman (1,288), Helen Darling (1,294) and Kathy Phillips (1,295) with her performance against the Gophers.
WILLIAMS STEALS THE SHOW: Senior guard Mashea Williams tied her career high with five steals against Minnesota on Feb. 5, equaling the mark she set against Illinois on Jan. 28, 2006. She is also the first Lady Lion to have five steals in a game since Brianne O'Rourke had five thefts against the Illini on Dec. 28, 2008. Williams now has 130 career steals.
TY'S 20S: With 21 tallies against Minnesota, junior Tyra Grant reached the 20-point plateau for the 12th time this season and the 23rd in her career. Her 12 20-point games this season are the most by a Lady Lion since Tanisha Wright had 13 games with 20 or more points. Grant currently leads the Big Ten in scoring in conference games with a 20.6 per game averaging, nearly a full point better than the next closest competitor.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A COACH, BRIANNE: Senior guard Brianne O'Rourke was recently selected to participate in the Seventh Annual WBCA's So You Want To Be A Coach program. The workshop will be held in conjunction with the WBCA National Convention and the Women's Final Four in St. Louis, Mo. The So You Want To Be A Coach Program is designed to increase the amount of minorities in the coaching profession, by providing a workshop based on educational and professional principles to help those interested in the field.
The Lady Lions visit Wisconsin on Thursday before returning 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.