Dec. 29, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - After posting its most non-conference wins since the 1984-85 season, the Penn State Lady Lions (11-3, 0-0) begin the Big Ten slate against No. 14/13 Iowa (12-1, 0-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m., at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions are 10-8 all-time in Big Ten openers and 21-17 all-time against the Hawkeyes. The game will be streamed live on www.bigtenetwork.com. Fans in attendance will receive New Year's hats and tiaras while supplies last.
GIVEAWAY: Fans will receive New Year's hats and tiaras while supplies last.
WEBCAST: The game will be streamed live on www.bigtenetwork.com.
RADIO/GAMETRACKER: 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 links are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
SCOUTING IOWA: The Hawkeyes are 12-1 on the season. Iowa is ranked 13th in the Dec. 28 ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and 14th in the Dec. 27 Associated Press poll. Kachine Alexander paces a balanced Hawkeye attack with a 14.3 scoring average to go along with 8.8 rebounds per game. Jaime Printy leads the team in scoring at a 15.1 per game clip and has a squad-best 27 three-pointers. Kamille Wahlin (12.4) and Morgan Johnson (12.2) are also averaging double-digits for Iowa.
ALL-TIME VS. THE HAWKEYES: The Lady Lions are 21-17 all-time against Iowa, including posting a 2-1 record against the Hawkeyes last season. Penn State is 12-5 all-time in home games against Iowa with a 77-73 overtime win in the only meeting in Happy Valley last season (Dec. 28). The Hawkeyes have won six of the last eight games in the series with an 82-75 victory in the Big Ten Tournament a year ago.
LAST TIME VS. IOWA: The Lady Lions (17-13, 8-10) shot 47.5% (29-61) from the field, but Iowa tied the Big Ten Tournament record with 11 three-pointers as the Hawkeyes earned an 82-75 win in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Mar. 5, 2010. Tyra Grant tallied a season-best 32 points en route to becoming the fourth player in program history to surpass the 2,000-point plateau. Grant also pulled in nine rebounds and two steals. Alex Bentley also reached double figures with 18 tallies on 9-of-15 shooting and handed out six assists. Gizelle Studevent had seven points in the loss.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions scored 40 points off of 34 Bucknell turnovers en route to a 96-48 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday. The Lady Lions finish the non-conference season with 11 wins, which is the highest total since the 1984-85 season when Penn State had 17 wins. Freshman guard Maggie Lucas paced five Lady Lions in double figures with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range. She also added five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore forward Mia Nickson was 7-for-11 from the field en route to 18 points to go along with six rebounds and a career-best six steals.
BIG TEN OPENERS: Penn State is 10-8 in Big Ten openers since joining the conference in 1993. The Lady Lions have lost their last five Big Ten openers, including a 56-48 loss at Minnesota last season. Penn State is 13-5 in Big Ten home openers after a 77-73 overtime win against Iowa to start the conference slate last season.
THIEVERY TIMES 20: The Lady Lions notched 21 steals on 34 Bucknell turnovers in a dominating win on Dec. 28. The 21 thefts are the most by a Penn State team since recording 23 steals against Maryland on Dec. 10, 1998. Individually, sophomore Mia Nickson and junior Renee Womack each tallied career highs with six and four steals, respectively.
NON-CON WINS: With 11 non-conference wins this year, the Lady Lions posted their highest non-con win total since the 1984-85 campaign when they tallied 17 wins. This is the fourth time in school history that Penn State has recorded 10 or more regular-season non-conference wins. The 11 non-conference wins are the second-most in school history.
LUCAS FOR 20 TALLIES: Freshman guard Maggie Lucas reached the 20-point plateau for the seventh time in her young career with 20 tallies against Bucknell on Dec. 28. Lucas is the first Penn State freshman with seven 20-point games since Tyra Grant registered seven 20-point performances during the 2006-07 season. Kelly Mazzante, who holds the Penn State freshman season scoring record (529 pts.), had 10 20-point efforts in her rookie season.
The Lady Lions hit the road for the first time in a month when they travel to Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 2 and Northwestern on Thursday, Jan. 6, The Northwestern game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network at 8:30 p.m. 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.