Feb. 13, 2010
Purdue Game Notes (2/14/10) | Listen on All-Access
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (15-9, 7-7) will look to change their fortunes when they travel to Purdue (13-12, 8-6) for a crucial Big Ten meeting on Sunday at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers will be hosting their Pink Zone game on Sunday to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. Penn State is out to avenge an 80-76 overtime loss to Purdue a little more than two weeks ago. The Lady Lions have lost their last five games and have dropped eight consecutive decisions to the Boilermakers.
RADIO/WEB/TV: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network with Jerry Fisher and Stacey Brewer calling the action. The game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1450. The audio feed is available at www.GoPSUsports.com. The game will be available via live video stream on www.BigTenNetwork.com for $2,99. The game will re-air on the Big Ten Network as a "Student U" Broadcast on Mon., Feb. 15 at 11:30 a.m.
SCOUTING PURDUE: The Boilermakers are 13-12 overall and 8-6 in Big Ten play. Brittany Rayburn leads a balanced Purdue attack with a 14.9 scoring average. She also contributes 2.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per outing. Jodi Howell continues to be the squad's top threat from three-point range, connecting on 39.6% of her shots (44-111) on the way to averaging 8.0 points per game. Chelsea Jones accounts for 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BOILERMAKERS: The Lady Lions are 14-22 all-time against the Boilermakers and just 4-12 in road games. The Lady Lions have dropped their last eight games to Purdue, including an 80-76 overtime loss at home on Jan. 28. Alex Bentley accounted for 22 of her career-high 27 points in the second half and overtime in January. Penn State's last win over the Boilermakers was Jan. 20, 2005 (77-54) at the Jordan Center.
LAST TIME VS. PURDUE: The Lady Lions made a valiant comeback in the final five minutes of regulation to force overtime, but could not control the extra frame in an 80-76 loss to Purdue on Jan. 28. Alex Bentley accounted for 22 of her career-high 27 points in the second half and overtime. Bentley also dished out six assists and pulled in five rebounds. Senior Tyra Grant had another solid all-around game with 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, while freshman Nikki Greene accounted for nine points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven blocks against the Boilermakers.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions led by eight points with 5:33 remaining, but Minnesota closed the game on a 17-2 run to earn a 59-52 victory Thursday. The Golden Gophers made more free throws (28) than Penn State had field goals (23) and were outstanding from the charity stripe, shooting 90.3%. After being held scoreless in the first half, senior Tyra Grant had 11 consecutive points in the second half to lead Penn State's offensive effort. Sophomore Zhaque Gray came off of the bench to go 5-for-10 from the field en route to 10 points.
GRANT INTO 5TH ALL-TIME: With 11 points against Minnesota on Feb. 11, senior guard Tyra Grant moved past Suzie McConnell for fifth place on Penn State's career scoring list. She is the fifth player in school history to reach the 1,900-point plateau with 1,902 career tallies.
STUDEVENT TALLIES CAREER MARK: Freshman guard Gizelle Studevent was 3-for-5 from the field on the way to a career-high six points in a loss to Minnesota on Feb. 11. Studevent surpasses her previous personal mark of four tallies set twice this season.
LUCAS NAMED McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN: Lady Lion signee Maggie Lucas is one of 24 players that has been selected to play in the ninth annual girls McDonald's All-America High School Game. Lucas will play for the East team in the game that will take place on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at Value City Arena. The girls game will tip at 5:30 p.m. and be broadcast live on ESPNU. Lucas is the second McDonald's High School All-American in school history. Lucas is one of two Big Ten recruits on the McDonald's All-America team.
The Lady Lions return home to face Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. It will be Beach Day in the Bryce Jordan Center with fans wearing a Hawaiian shirt will get in for $5. 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 took place on Sunday, Jan. 24 when the Lady Lions take on Illinois in the Bryce Jordan Center. The first three Pink Zone events have raised more than $80,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information or to donate online to the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone.
The Lady Lions hold several camps throughout the summer. There is a Lady Lion Basketball Camp available for girls of all ages, ranging from shooting camp to elite camp. The 2010 Lady Lion Basketball Camp schedule is as follows: Shooting Camp (June 13-15), Elite Camp (June 20-22), Skills Camp (June 20-23), Total Package Team Camp (June 24-26) and Games Galore Team Camp (August 6-8). For more information on Lady Lion Basketball Camps, please visit psusportscamps.com and click on Lady Lion Basketball Camp.
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.