Sept. 11, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Former Penn State Lady Lion Tanisha Wright and the Seattle Storm swept their way past the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference playoffs to earn a spot in the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream. The Storm and Dream open the best-of-five series on Sunday in Seattle at 3 p.m., live on ABC.
The Storm, who earned the league's best record with a 28-6 regular season, are making their is the first Finals appearance since winning the title in 2004. It is the first career Finals appearance for Wright. This is the fourth consecutive season that a former Lady Lion has reached the WNBA Finals (Kelly Mazzante in 2007 & 2009 with Phoenix, Helen Darling in 2008 with San Antonio).
2010 WNBA Finals Schedule
Game 1: ATL at SEA 9/12, 3 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2: ATL at SEA, 9/14, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Game 3: SEA at ATL, 9/16, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Game 4*: SEA at ATL, 9/19, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Game 5*: ATL at SEA, 9/21, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
In her sixth season with Seattle, Wright accounts for 9.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, a career-best 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She ranks 10th in the WNBA in assists per game and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.17). The three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year has also been steady at the free throw line, ranking 13th in the WNBA with an 84.4% mark from the stripe. Wright was also recently selected to the WNBA All-Defensive first team for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Lions, who will face Gannon in an exhibition on Sun., Nov. 7, open their season on the road at Dayton on Fri., Nov. 12. Penn State then faces Rider in its home opener on Sun., Nov. 14. 2010-11 Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are available by calling 814-867-2557. Season tickets are $117 for adults, $52 for youth and $91 for seniors. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 10 vouchers that can be redeemed for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets in any combination.
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