Dec. 7, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lions (7-2) continue their seven-game homestand when they host Army (3-5) Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network with Leah Secondo and Debbie Antonelli on the call. The first 200 fans will receive a "Coquese's Corps" camouflage t-shirt.
PROMOTIONS/GIVEAWAY: It's Military Appreciation night and Military members get in free with a valid military ID. Additionally, it's Dollar Dog Day where fans can get a Berks hot dogs at Concession Stands for just $1. The first 200 fans will receive a "Coquese's Corps" camouflage t-shirt.
TELEVISION: Big Ten Network - Leah Secondo (color) & Debbie Antonelli (play-by-play)
RADIO/LIVE STATS: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and on ESPN 1450 locally with Jerry Fisher calling the action. The audio feed and live stats are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
SCOUTING ARMY: The Black Knights are 3-5 on the season and coming off of a 53-44 win over Penn Saturday. Erin Anthony is averaging a double-double with team bests of 11.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per outing. Laura Baranek has also been solid for Army, scoring 10.1 points and pulling in 5.1 rebounds per game.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BLACK KNIGHTS: The Lady Lions have never faced Army on the hardwood. Penn State is a perfect 16-0 versus Patriot League teams, but has only faced American (3-0), Bucknell (10-0) and Holy Cross (3-0). This will be the first time that the Lady Lions have faced any of the service academies.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions led wire-to-wire on the way to a 76-68 win over Texas Tech in the inaugural Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge Sunday. Redshirt sophomore Mia Nickson tallied her first career double-double with personal bests of 26 points and 14 rebounds. She was 8-for-10 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Alex Bentley added 16 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win, while freshman guard Maggie Lucas accounted for 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
BENTLEY REACHES 500: With 16 points in the win over Texas Tech on Dec. 5, sophomore point guard Alex Bentley surpassed the 500-point plateau for her career. She has 514 points in 40 career games. Bentley also dished out eight assists and nabbed three steals in the victory over the Lady Raiders.
MIA'S DAY OF FIRSTS: Dec. 5 was a day of firsts for redshirt sophomore Mia Nickson as she made her first collegiate start in the win over Texas Tech. Additionally, Nickson recorded her first career double-double with personal bests of 26 points and 14 rebounds. She was 8-for-10 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line against the Raiders.
20s THE NUMBER: The Lady Lions have had five different players score 20 points in a game this season. Zhaque Gray, Alex Bentley, Mia Nickson, Maggie Lucas and Nikki Greene have each posted at least one 20-point game in 2010-11. The last time Penn State had five different 20-point scorers was 2004-05 when Tanisha Wright, Jess Strom, Jen Harris, Jennifer Brenden and Ashli Schwab accomplished the feat.
LADY LIONS IN THE RPI: The Lady Lions are in the Top 25 in most major RPI reports. Penn State is 17th in the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women's College Basketball Ratings with the 19th-ranked strength of schedule. The Lady Lions are also 24th in the CollegeRPI.com rankings with the 49th-ranked strength of schedule.
LIONS TO HOST SPECIAL OLYMPIANS: The Lady Lions will host their second annual basketball clinic for Special Olympic athletes, unified partners and coaches from Centre and Blair Countries on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The participants will be invited to watch the end of the Lady Lions' practice and will then partake in a clinic from 4-4:30 p.m., followed by a chance to have pizza with the Lady Lions. The Special Olympic athletes, unified partners and coaches will participate in various drills and activities and coaches will have an opportunity to learn additional coaching techniques. All Special Olympics PA athletes and their families, not just those participating in Saturday's clinic, are invited to be a guest of Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington's for Sunday's Penn State women's basketball game against Maine at noon. The Centre County and Blair County basketball teams will square off in a halftime exhibition with Sue Paterno serving as the Master of Ceremonies for tipoff.
LUCAS FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK TIMES 3: Maggie Lucas garnered her third consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after averaging 19.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Lady Lions. Her three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors are the third-most since the award's inception last season. Iowa's Jaime Printy and Illinois' Karisma Penn each claimed four awards last year. In a tough overtime loss at Boston College in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Lucas had a career-high 28 points, including six three-pointers. She was 6-for-13 from long range in the game. Lucas also pulled in three rebounds and blocked her second career shot versus the Eagles. The native of Narberth, Pa., was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. In Sunday's wire-to-wire win over the Big 12's Texas Tech, Lucas was 4-for-8 from the field on the way to 10 points. She nailed two critical three-pointers to thwart Lady Raider runs in the second half.
SHARP SHOOTING: The Lady Lions are second in the NCAA if three-point field goal percentage with a 47.5% mark. Penn State trails future opponent Drexel by just 0.06% for the top spot. Additionally, Zhaque Gray is tied for second in the country in three-point shooting (55.1%), while Maggie Lucas is 13th in shots made from beyond the arc (3.2). Penn State's offense is seventh in the country at an 86.2 per game pace.
The Lady Lions continue their seven-game homestand when they host Maine on Sunday, Dec. 12 at noon. It's Toys for Tots day and any fan presenting a new, unwrapped toy will get a free ticket to the game. 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.