Aug. 6, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lion basketball team announced its 2009-10 non-conference schedule today. The 10-game non-conference slate features five home games, highlighted with appearances by Pitt and Georgia Tech at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions will take on three teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament and one squad that reached the WNIT.
"Once again, we will face tough non-conference competition," Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington said. "We go to South Carolina, which had an outstanding recruiting class and brought in the No. 2 player in the country, so that will be a tough matchup for us. Then we have our continued rivalry with Pitt, which is always a tough game for us, and then playing Georgia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge will be another competitive matchup. As always, we have some games that should prepare us for the Big Ten play."
The Lady Lions, who will face Indiana (Pa.) in an exhibition on Sun., Nov. 8, open the 2009-10 regular-season campaign with a road game at Colonial Athletic Association champion Drexel on Fri., Nov. 13. Penn State hosts NJIT on Sun., Nov. 15 in the home opener, the day after the football team's game against Indiana. The Lady Lions then hit the road for four games at Bucknell (Thurs., Nov. 19), South Carolina (Sun., Nov. 22) and the Maine Classic (Fri., Nov. 27 & Sat., Nov. 28). The Lady Lions will take on Buffalo in the opening round of the Maine Classic and then face either the host Black Bears or Holy Cross in the championship/consolation game.
Penn State welcomes Georgia Tech to the Bryce Jordan Center on Wed., Dec. 2 in the Third Annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Lions and the Yellow Jackets. The Lady Lions will close out their non-conference schedule with a trio of home games against Monmouth (Wed., Dec. 9), Pittsburgh (Sat., Dec. 12) and Oakland (Mon., Dec. 21). The Lady Lions will honor the 10th anniversary of the 2000 Final Four team at the Pitt game.
Headlining the list of returning Lady Lions is All-Big Ten first team selection Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio), who finished second in the conference and 18th in the country in scoring at a 19.6 per game clip. The senior guard became just the 14th junior in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark when she accomplished the feat against Florida State. Grant will have a chance to become the fourth player in school history to reach 2,000 tallies as she enters her final season needing 553 points to reach the milestone.
Junior guard/forward Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) is also back in the fold after leading the team and finishing 12th in the Big Ten with a 6.3 rebounding average. She was also among the conference leaders with a .433 field goal percentage. Trogele, who spent the summer playing for the U20 German National Team, was fourth on the squad in scoring (7.6) and steals (33) a year ago. Penn State also adds the 14th-ranked recruiting class by ESPN/Hoopgurlz that includes WBCA and SLAM! Magazine All-American Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas) and Parade Magazine All-American Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.).
The Big Ten Conference schedule will be announced at a later date.
Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY or 814-863-1000. Season tickets are $117 for adults, $52 for youth and $91 for seniors. Penn State fans that attend the Indiana football game can use their football ticket to receive buy one ticket, get one free ticket for the Lady Lions' game against NJIT on Sat., Nov. 15.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow head coach Coquese Washington (@psucoachquese) and sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) to get the inside scoop on the Lions.
2009-10 Penn State Women's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
| Sun., Nov. 8 | INDIANA (PA.) (exhibition) | 2 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | at Drexel | TBA |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | NJIT | TBA |
| Thurs., Nov. 19 | at Bucknell | TBA |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | at South Carolina | TBA |
| Maine Classic (Orono, Maine) | ||
| Fri., Nov. 27 | vs. Maine/Holy Cross/Buffalo | 4/6 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | vs. Maine/Holy Cross/Buffalo | 12/2 p.m. |
| Big Ten/ACC Challenge | ||
| Wed., Dec. 2 | GEORGIA TECH | TBA |
| Wed., Dec. 9 | MONMOUTH | TBA |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | PITTSBURGH | TBA |
| Mon., Dec. 21 | OAKLAND (MICH.) | TBA |
CAPS indicates home game.
All times are Eastern. Schedule subject to change.
Please visit www.GoPSUsports.com for up-to-date tip times.