Dec. 1, 2010
Boston College Game Notes (12/2/10)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (6-1) continue their four-game road swing at Boston College (6-0) in a Fourth Annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Conte Forum. This is just the second all-time meeting between the Lady Lions and BC with PSU claiming an 85-43 win in the only other meeting. It will be Penn State's first visit to the city of Boston since the 1981-82 season when the Lady Lions posted a 90-69 win over Boston University on Dec. 2, 1981.
RADIO: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and on ESPN 1450 locally with Jerry Fisher calling the action. The audio feed and GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles are a perfect 6-0 on the season and are coming off of a tournament win at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas with wins over Seton Hall and Sacred Heart. Carolyn Swords leads Boston College, averaging a double-double with 18.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Stefanie Murphy is also averaging double figures at 16.5 tallies per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE EAGLES: The Lady Lions were victorious in their only previous meeting with Boston College, taking home an 85-43 win on Dec. 29, 1984 in University Park. Penn State travels to the city of Boston since the 1981-82 season when the Lady Lions posted a 90-69 win over Boston University on Dec. 2, 1981. Penn State is 33-24 all-time against teams from the ACC, but is just 1-2 in ACC-Big Ten Challenge games.
LAST TIME VS. BC: The last time Boston College and Penn State faced off Vanessa Paynter paced the Lions with 14 points to lead PSU to an 85-43 on Dec. 29, 1984. Kahadeejah Herbert added nine rebounds in the win.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions had their long range shoes on Saturday as they hit 10 three-pointers, including seven treys by freshman Maggie Lucas on the way to a 71-65 win over Hartford in the final game of the Caribbean Challenge. With the win, the Lady Lions finished second in the Lagoon Division of the Caribbean Challenge. Lucas was 7-for-12 from beyond the arc and finished the game with 17 points, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman Ariel Edwards notched the second double-digit scoring performance of her career with 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Alex Bentley added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and six assists.
ACC-BIG TEN CHALLENGE: The Lady Lions are 1-2 in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games with a victory over Duke in the inaugural Challenge and losses to Florida State and Georgia Tech.
BACK-TO-BACK ROOKIE HONORS: Maggie Lucas earned her second consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in three games at the Caribbean Challenge last week. Lucas shares the Nov. 29 Freshman of the Week honor with Illinois' Alexis Burke. Lucas earned All-Tournament team accolades after averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.3 assists for the Lady Lions at the Caribbean Challenge. She started the week off with an eight-point, four-rebound performance in a win over Utah on Nov. 25. She also notched a career-high four steals and three assists against the Utes. In the Nov. 26 tough loss to #23 Green Bay, Lucas scored eight of her 11 points in the final two minutes to spur on a Penn State rally that would fall just short. Lucas was on fire from long range in the tournament's final game against Hartford on Nov. 27, going 7-for-12 from three-point range on the way to a game-high 27 points. She also accounted for three rebounds, two steals and her first collegiate block against the Hawks.
RUNNER UP FINISH: The Lady Lions posted a 2-1 record in the Lagoon Division of the Caribbean Challenge. The mark gives Penn State a runner-up finish in the tourney with #23 UW-Green Bay winning the title with a perfect 3-0 mark. The Lions are now 123-48 all-time in regular-season tournaments.
LUCAS ON ALL-TOURNEY SQUAD: Freshman guard Maggie Lucas was selected to the Caribbean Challenge All-Tournament team after averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in three games. Lucas was 7-for-12 en route to 27 points in the tourney finale versus Hartford on Nov. 27.
BOMBS AWAY: It was a firestorm from three-point range to start in the Penn State-Hartford contest as 12 of the game's first 16 baskets were made from long range as the Hawks established a 25-12 lead with less than11 minutes left in the opening half. The Lions came away with the win on Nov. 27 thanks in part to seven three-pointers by Maggie Lucas. She is the second Lady Lion to drain seven trey this season, joining Zhaque Gray who accomplished the feat versus Dayton.
WOLFE HITS 100: Sophomore forward Marisa Wolfe reached the 100-point plateau and the 100-rebounds mark in the loss to UW-Green Bay. She accounted for seven points and seven boards against the Phoenix to reach the century mark in both categories.
LIMITING BOARDS: The Lady Lions outrebounded Utah by a 42-19 count on Nov. 25. It is the first time that Penn State has held an opponent to fewer than 20 rebounds since giving up just 19 boards to Maryland on Dec. 3, 2003.
GOING GREENE: Sophomore center Nikki Greene notched her third career double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Utah on Nov. 25. She was 9-for-10 from the field as she set a personal best with her 24 tallies. It is the third double-digit rebounding performance of the season for Greene.
5-0 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1996-97: With a 70-58 win over Utah on Nov. 25, the Lady Lions moved to 5-0 on the year for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The 1996-97 started the year 7-0 and finished with a 15-12 record.
The Lady Lions return home to meet Texas Tech in the inaugural Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. to kick off a seven-game homestand. 2010-11 Lady Lion Basketball Single-game tickets are available by calling 814-863-1000 or 800-NITTANY. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, including one for the Coaches vs. Cancer game and one for the Pink Zone game, that can be redeemed for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets in any combination.
The 2011 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 27 at noon as the Lady Lions take on Northwestern in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Last year, the Lady Lions donated more than $80,000 for breast cancer causes. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone. The WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pinkzoneatpennstate.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.