Dec. 20, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (10-2) continue their seven-game homestand against Drexel (6-2) on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game is part of a men's-women's doubleheader with the Nittany Lions taking on Maine at 5 p.m. Tickets for the doubleheader are $10 for adults and $5 for youth and students. Fans will receive blue & white holiday hats while supplies last.
GIVEAWAY: Fans will receive blue & white holiday hats while supplies last.
RADIO/LIVE STATS: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and on ESPN 1450 locally with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. The audio feed and GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
WEBSTREAM: The game will be streamed live on www.bigtenetwork.com.
SCOUTING DREXEL: The Dragons are 6-2 on the season, but have lost two of their last three contests. Kamile Nacickaite leads Drexel with team-bests of 17.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She is also connecting on 50% of her shots from three-point range (24-48). Jasmina Rosseel is also averaging double figures at 11.1 tallies per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE DRAGONS: The Lady Lions are a perfect 3-0 all-time against Drexel, including a 71-61 win in Philadelphia last season. Penn State claimed a 66-60 win in its only home game against the Dragons on Nov. 25, 2007. This will be the fourth meeting between the squads in the last five years.
LAST TIME VS. DREXEL: Tyra Grant registered her first career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Lions to a 71-61 season-opening win at Drexel on Nov. 13, 2009. Janessa Wolff also reached double digits for the Lady Lions with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions shook off the rust from a week-long break for exams with a solid second half effort en route to a 64-55 win over Delaware Sunday. Freshman Maggie Lucas drained two key three-pointers in the final 4:09 to lead the Lions. She finished the game with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. She also pulled in four rebounds and had two steals. Sophomore guard Alex Bentley scored 10 of her 13 points after the break. She also added six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Sophomore center Nikki Greene added 11 points and five rebounds, while senior Julia Trogele chipped in seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
BATTLE OF NCAAS DEEP THREATS: The Penn State-Drexel game is a match-up of the two best three-point shooting teams in the country. The Lady Lions lead Division I with a 46.5% effort from downtown and the Dragons are second with a 44.6% mark as of Dec. 20. Junior Zhaque Gray (47.7%) is 14th and freshman Maggie Lucas (44.8%) is 28th in the country in three-point shooting. Drexel's Kamile Nacickaite is third in Division I with a 50% mark.
FORMER TEAMMATES MEET: Freshman guard Maggie Lucas will see a familiar face on the other bench against Drexel in former Germantown Academy teammate Tory Thierolf. The pair played together for the Patriots for four seasons where they went 102-15. Both players were both first team All-State performers for Germantown last season.
LUCAS PASSES 200: With 16 points against Delaware, Maggie Lucas surpassed the 200-point plateau, just 12 games into her collegiate career. Freshman season scoring leader Kelly Mazzante (529 pts.) also reached the 200-point mark in 12 games during the 2000-01 campaign.
LUCAS WINS ROOKIE AWARD #5: Guard Maggie Lucas continued her string of winning the Dec. 20 Big Ten Freshman of the Week award with her fifth consecutive honor. Lucas shares this week's award with Purdue's Courtney Moses. With the honor, Lucas breaks the conference record for Freshman of the Week accolades in a season, passing the mark of four freshman laurels set by Iowa's Jaime Printy and Illinois' Karisma Penn each claimed four awards last year. The Freshman of the Week award was introduced during the 2009-10 season. Lucas collects her fifth straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after guiding Penn State to a 64-55 win over Delaware on Dec. 19. The newcomer scored a team-high 16 points, 10 of which came after halftime, along with four rebounds and two steals. She also nailed four three-pointers, two of which came in the final 4:09 just as the Blue Hens had cut the Penn State lead to two.
Following a break for the holidays, the Lady Lions will face Bucknell at the BJC on Tues., Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., before hosting Iowa on Thurs., Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. in their Big Ten opener. 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.