Feb. 22, 2011
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Fresh off of a bye date, the Penn State Lady Lions (21-7, 10-4) return to action at the Bryce Jordan Center against Purdue (18-10, 8-7) Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Lady Lions can clinch a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament with a win over the Boilermakers Thursday.
RADIO/GAMETRACKER: The game is on WRSC locally with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. The audio feed and a link to GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
WEB/TV: The game is available as a webstream on www.BigTenNetwork.com. The game will be shown on the Big Ten Network as a "Student U" broadcast on Sat., Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.
SCOUTING PURDUE: The Boilermakers are 18-10 overall and 8-7 in Big Ten play after a tough last-second loss to Ohio State Sunday. Brittany Rayburn paces the Purdue offense with a 14.2 scoring average and 1.7 assists per game. Freshman guard Courtney Moses has been solid for the Boilers, averaging 12.3 points and 3.4 assists per game, while Drey Mingo is also averaging double figures at an 11.5 per game clip.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BOILERMAKERS: The Lady Lions are just 14-24 all-time against Purdue, including a 79-69 loss in West Lafayette Jan. 20. Penn State is 9-7 all-time against Purdue in home games. The Boilermakers have won the last 10 games in the series, dating back to the 2004-05 season. Penn State's last win over Purdue was Jan. 20, 2005 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
LAST TIME VS. PURDUE: A furious second half rally was not enough for the Lady Lions, who struggled with turnovers for most game, Purdue on the way to a 79-69 loss in West Lafayette Jan. 20. Sophomore guard Alex Bentley paced four Lady Lions in double figures with 14 points. She also added five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Freshman guard Maggie Lucas was 4-for-6 from the field en route to 13 points and a pair of steals, while senior guard/forward Julia Trogele accounted for 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Zhaque Gray chipped in 12 points.
LAST TIME OUT: Despite shooting 53.2% from the field, the #23/25 Lady Lions were plagued by turnover problems in an 89-67 loss to Ohio State Feb. 17. Sophomore forward Mia Nickson and junior guard Zhaque Gray each scored 14 points for the Lady Lions, who saw all 11 players score. Nickson was 6-for-10 from the field en route to the 14 tallies and also pulled down six rebounds to go with two steals. Gray complimented her 14 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sophomore center Nikki Greene also reached double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.
LUCAS SCALES FRESHMAN SCORING RANKS: With eight points at Ohio State Feb. 17, rookie guard Maggie Lucas moved into third place on the Penn State freshman season scoring chart. She needs 44 points to tie Susan Robinson for second place.
LUCAS CLIMBING BIG TEN THREES LIST: Freshman guard Maggie Lucas is moving up the Big Ten single-season three-pointers chart. With a pair of three-pointers at Ohio State Feb. 17, she tied former Lady Lion Kelly Mazzante's 2002-03 performance for third place on the list with 98 threes. Lucas needs four triples to tie Mazzante's 2001-02 season for second place on the charts.
LUCAS AMONG NCAA FRESHMEN: Rookie guard Maggie Lucas is eighth among NCAA freshman in scoring with a 16.4 average. She trails UT Martin's Heather Butler (19.1). Additionally, Lucas is first among NCAA freshman in three-point field goal percentage (.458) and first in three-point field goals made (98).
LEADING THE NATION FROM DEEP: The Lady Lions continue to lead the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage with a 44.2% mark. As a team, Penn State is 35th in three-pointers made per game (7.0). Additionally, Maggie Lucas is sixth in the nation in three-point shooting (.458) and second in three-pointers per game (3.5).
LIONS AMONG NCAA LEADERS: Penn State's impressive offensive start to the season has landed the Lady Lions in the Top 25 in the country in several offensive categories. PSU's offense is 13th in the Division I at an 78.8 per game pace, while its .454 field goal percentage is 18th in the NCAA. Penn State is also 37th in the country in scoring margin (+10.6). Individually, Nikki Greene is 31st in blocked shots (2.2), while Alex Bentley is 28th in assists (5.4) and 52nd in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.74).
The Lady Lions close out the regular season the Bryce Jordan Center against Northwestern of Sunday, Feb. 27 at noon for the Fifth Annual WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State. $3 from every single-game ticket to the Pink Zone game will go to the Pink Zone fundraising efforts. 2010-11 Lady Lion Basketball Single-game tickets are available by calling 814-863-1000 or 800-NITTANY.
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.