Feb. 11, 2011
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #23/23 Penn State Lady Lions (20-6, 9-3) will look to bounce back from a tough loss to Michigan State when they visit Indiana (9-15, 3-9) Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The Lady Lions are currently a half game behind the Spartans for first place in the Big Ten standings and are tied with Wisconsin. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network with Penn State graduate Mike Wolf and former Purdue standout Stephanie White describing play.
TELEVISION: The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network with Penn State graduate Mike Wolf and former Purdue standout Stephanie White describing play.
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 a link to GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
SCOUTING INDIANA: The Hoosiers are 9-15 overall and 3-9 in Big Ten play after a 59-52 win at Illinois Thursday. Jori Davis is the marquee player for Indiana as she averages team bests of 18.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. She has also been to the free throw line a conference-best 198 times. Hope Elam also averages double digits for the Hoosiers with an 11.4 per game mark, while Whitney Lindsay chips in 9.7 tallies per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE HOOSIERS: The Lady Lions are 26-9 all-time against Indiana, but just 8-6 in road games. Penn State hasn't won in Bloomington since Jan. 15, 2005 (65-44), a string of four games. Last season, Indiana earned a 77-68 win at Assembly Hall. PSU is going for its first season sweep of the Hoosiers since 2004-05 after picking up an 82-69 win Jan. 23 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
LAST TIME VS. IU: The Lady Lions struggled from the field, but dominated the glass on the way to an 82-69 victory over Indiana Jan. 23. The Lady Lions had a Jordan Center record 61 rebounds. Mia Nickson and Nikki Greene combined to outrebound the Hoosiers with 17 and 20 caroms, respectively. Nickson posted her third career double-double with 25 points and a personal-best 17 rebounds, including 14 offensive boards. The sophomore tied her career high with six steals against the Hoosiers. Sophomore Alex Bentley added 15 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Maggie Lucas had 16 points and four rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: The #23/23 Penn State Lady Lions struggled from the field with a season-worst 32.7% (17-52) and turned the ball over 24 times in a 60-49 loss against #11/13 Michigan State at the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday. Sophomore forward Mia Nickson paced Penn State with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. She also pulled in six rebounds and had a steal. Freshman Maggie Lucas added 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals in the loss. Senior guard/forward Julia Trogele pulled in a game-best 13 rebounds for the Lady Lions.
MIA TOPS 20: Sophomore forward Mia Nickson posted her fourth 20-point game of the season with 22 tallies against #11/13 Michigan State Feb. 10. Nickson was 6-for-12 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line for the game. She also pulled in six rebounds against the Spartans.
LUCAS CLIMBING BIG TEN THREES LIST: Freshman guard Maggie Lucas is moving up the Big Ten single-season three-pointers chart. With 90 triples this season, she passed Ohio State's Katie Smith (88) and Purdue's Katie Gearlds (88) for fifth place on the list with three three-pointers against Michigan State Feb. 10. With 90 treys, Lucas needs two triples to tie fellow Lady Lion Kelly Mazzante for fourth place on the charts.
LADY LIONS JUMP INTO POLLS: The Lady Lions are ranked 23rd in both major women's basketball polls. It is the first appearance for Penn State in the Associated Press Top 25 since claiming the 23rd spot in the Jan. 25, 2010 poll. Additionally, the Lady Lions return to the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll for the first time since the March 14, 2005 poll that placed them 25th.
LUCKY #7: Guard Maggie Lucas claimed her seventh Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after averaging 20.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in a pair of road wins to propel the Lady Lions into sole possession of first place for the week-ending Feb. 6. In the Feb. 3 win at Michigan, Lucas was 9-for-16 from the field, including 6-for-6 from inside the arc, en route to 23 points. She also pulled in four rebounds and notched a steal against the Wolverines. Lucas continued her strong play with 18 points, including four three-pointers, in the upset win at #20/22 Iowa Feb. 6. She also snatched three rebounds to go with an assist and a steal.
ROAD WINS: The Lady Lions' win at #20/22 Iowa Feb. 6 marked the sixth road win of the season for Penn State. It is the most road wins for a Lady Lion squad since the 2004-05 team had six road victories.
The Lady Lions hit the road for a Big Ten Network game at Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. Penn State is back in the Bryce Jordan Center after a bye date to face Purdue on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 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.