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Lady Lions Host Iowa in Big Ten Home Opener Monday

Dec. 26, 2009

Iowa Game Notes (12/28/09) |

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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (8-3, 0-1) open their Big Ten home schedule against Iowa (7-5, 0-1) on Monday night at 7 p.m., at the Bryce Jordan Center. Monday night will also be Take a Kid to the Game night for the Lady Lions where fans can get a free youth ticket with purchase of a full-price adult ticket. The first 1,000 fans will also receive a Janessa Wolff pencil holder.

WEB/RADIO: The game will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com for $2.99. The game is on the Penn State Sports Network with Jerry Fisher and Kellie Goodman calling the action. The game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1450 locally. The audio feed is available at www.GoPSUsports.com.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior Tyra Grant proved why she is an All-Big Ten performer as she scored 13 of Penn State's points during a 26-3 run in the second half as the Lady Lions rallied for a 69-64 victory over Oakland on Dec. 21. Grant finished the game with 21 points via a 6-for-10 shooting performance. She also added five rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. The Lady Lions finished the non-conference season 8-2. Junior Julia Trogele also reached double figures with 13 points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. Sophomore Emily Phillips was a spark off of the bench with a career-best eight points and two assists, while Renee Womack added six points, five rebounds and two steals.

SCOUTING IOWA: The Hawkeyes are 7-5 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play. Junior Kachine Alexander is averaging a double-double with 16.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, but missed seven games with an injury. While Alexander was out, Kamille Wahlin stepped up to average 15.8 points, while Jamie Printy accounts for 13.0 tallies.

ALL-TIME VS. HAWKEYES: The Lady Lions are 19-16 all-time against Iowa, but have dropped the last five contests to the Hawkeyes. Penn State holds an 11-5 record in home games. Last season, Iowa was victorious in a 97-89 triple overtime thriller in Iowa City on Feb. 1, 2009 and earned a 63-57 come-from-behind win at the Jordan Center on Feb. 15, 2009.

LAST TIME VS. IOWA: The Lady Lions led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but could not hold on en route to a 63-57 loss to Iowa on Feb. 15, 2009. Tyra Grant had 20 points in the first half and finished with a game-best 26 tallies to go along with six rebounds and a blocked shot. Julia Trogele was solid with eight points and six rebounds, while Brianne O'Rourke accounted for seven points, four rebounds and four assists.

PSU-IOWA = CLOSE GAME: The Penn State-Iowa series has produced several close games in its time, including a triple overtime thriller last season. Each of the last nine games in the series has been decided by nine points or less.

PHILLIPS HAS CAREER NIGHT: Sophomore guard Emily Phillips was a spark off of the bench for the Lady Lions and turned in a career performance in the come-from-behind win over Oakland on Dec. 21. Phillips had a career-best eight points. She also set career marks for field goals made (4), field goals attempted (8) and minutes played (27).

SOLID "D": As of Dec. 20, the Lady Lions are sixth in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 32.7% shooting.

The Lady Lions head to Illinois (Dec. 31) and Northwestern (Jan. 3) following the Iowa game. Penn State returns to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, Jan. 10 against Indiana at noon. Single-game tickets can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.

The 2010 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Illinois in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first three Pink Zone events have raised more than $80,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, 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.

The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow head coach Coquese Washington (@psucoachquese), sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and assistant coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook. Search Lady Lion Basketball and become a fan.