Feb. 3, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State Lady Lion senior guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) has been selected as a finalist for the women's basketball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The honor recognizes student-athletes who excel on and off the field, weighing notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
Nationwide balloting begins immediately and runs through March 22 to determine the winner. Fans can vote EVERY DAY for Grant by sending a text message of W5 to 74567 and online at http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/womens_basketball_2009/. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winners during the 2010 NCAA Men's and Women's Final Fours in early April.
Grant is enjoying another outstanding season for the Lady Lions. She is second in the Big Ten and 17th nationally in scoring with a 19.5 per game average. She is also among the conference leaders in free throw percentage (9th; .803), steals (13th; 1.62) and minutes (7th; 33.76). Grant is just the sixth player in school history to reach the 1,800-point plateau and is on pace to become the fourth player in program history with 2,000 tallies. The 2009 All-Big Ten first team selection is currently sixth on Penn State's all-time scoring list with 1,846 points.
Off the court, Grant is very involved in community service. She has volunteered her time working with a variety organizations and programs, including United Way Day of Caring - painting houses in the community; spotting for therapeutic horseback riding lessons for children through the Easter Seals; serving as an official for Special Olympics; volunteering at Houserville Elementary School and various other community outreach programs (i.e. Operation Salute and WBCA Pink Zone). Grant is a Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management major. She earned a 3.0 in the fall of 2008. She would one day like to be the owner of an indoor waterpark resort.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates who were announced in October.
The women's finalists for 2009-10 are: Jayne Appel, Stanford University; Amy Beggin, University of New Mexico; Joy Cheek, Duke University; Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee State University; Tyra Grant, Pennsylvania State University; Kelsey Griffin, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Allison Hightower, Louisiana State University; Ashley Houts, University of Georgia; Ashley Sweat, Kansas State University; and Bianca Thomas, University of Mississippi.
The Lady Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center for a Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7) meeting with No. 4/6 Ohio State at 1 p.m. The Ohio State game is a Subway Full Court Four Pack game where fans can get four tickets, four sodas and a voucher for four 6" Subway subs (offer not valid the BJC Subway) for $40. 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.