March 1, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State Lady Lion senior Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) and freshman Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) took home Big Ten accolades for their outstanding performances during the 2009-10 season. Grant was named to the All-Big Ten first team for the second consecutive season by both the coaches and media, while Bentley was an All-Big Ten third team selection by the coaches and an honorable mention All-Big Ten choice by the media. Additionally, Bentley was a unanimous pick for the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Grant is the eighth Lady Lion to garner multiple All-Big Ten first team selections, joining Tina Nicholson (1994, 1995, 1996), Angie Potthoff (1995, 1996, 1997), Helen Darling (1999, 2000), Andrea Garner (1999, 2000), Maren Walseth (2000, 2001), Kelly Mazzante (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) and Tanisha Wright (2003, 2004, 2005). Grant was an All-Big honorable mention choice each of her first two seasons in Happy Valley.
The Youngstown, Ohio native, who is a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Trophy and a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, is second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally with a 18.8 scoring average this season. Grant has reached double figures in scoring in each of her last 40 games, the second-longest streak in the Big Ten. She also ranks in the Top 15 in the conference in free throw percentage (11th/.789), steals (10th/1.75), three-pointers made (12th/1.5) and minutes played (9th/33.71). She also registered her first career double-double this season against Drexel with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Grant, who has 13 games with 20 or more points this year, is on pace to become the fourth player in school history to reach 2,000 points, needing just 26 more tallies to accomplish the feat. She is currently fifth in school history with 1,974 points and her 16.6 career scoring average is fourth in program history. Grant also ranks in the Top 10 in the Lady Lion record books in career free throws made (4th/472), three-point field goals made (5th/172), field goals (8th/665), minutes played (9th/3,740) and games started (t-10th/97).
Bentley is the ninth Penn State rookie to earn Big Ten All-Freshman team accolades, joining Helen Darling (1997), Lisa Shepherd (1998), Maren Walseth (1998), Kelly Mazzante (2001), Jess Strom (2002), Reicina Russell (2004), Brianne O'Rourke (2006) and Grant (2007).
Bentley leads the team and is fifth in the Big Ten with a 3.89 assist average. She is also among the conference leaders in scoring (17th/11.7) and field goal percentage (10th/.441). The Indianapolis, Ind. native has 19 double-digit scoring games this season, including three 20-point games. She scored 22 of her career-high 27 points in the second half and overtime, including Penn State's final seven tallies of regulation versus Purdue (1/28).
The rookie guard ranks ninth on Penn State's freshman season scoring list (328) and sixth in freshman season assists (109). Bentley was also the Jan. 18 Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week and was named to Dead River Company Classic All-Tournament team.
The No. 6 seed Lady Lions travel to Indianapolis for the 2010 Big Ten Tournament where they will face No. 11 seed Minnesota at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The game will air on the Big Ten Network. This is the first-ever meeting between Penn State and Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament. The winner of Thursday's first round game will play #3 Iowa at approximately 2 p.m. on Friday, which can also be seen on the Big Ten Network.
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.