March 17, 2011
NCAA Tournament First & Second Round Game Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - After a six-year absence, the No. 6 seeded Penn State Lady Lions (24-9, 11-5) are back in the NCAA Tournament where they will host No. 11 seed Dayton (21-11) Saturday at 11:10 a.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The game will be televised on ESPN2. The Penn State-Dayton contest will be the first game of a doubleheader with No. 3 seed DePaul (27-6) facing No. 14 Navy (20-11) at approximately 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2 and espn3.com. The first 100 Penn State students will get in for free, courtesy of the Lady Lion Cager Club, when they show their ID at Gate A on Saturday. The winner of each game will face off in a second round matchup on Monday at 7 p.m.
PROMOTIONS: First 100 Penn State students will get in for free, courtesy of the Lady Lion Cager Club, when they show their ID at Gate A on Saturday.
TELEVISION: The game will air on ESPN2 with Justin Kutcher and Brenda VanLengen calling the action.
RADIO: 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 is available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
22ND NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH: Penn State is making its 22nd overall NCAA Tournament appearance and first since dropping a first-round decision to Liberty in the 2005 tourney. The Lady Lions are one of only 12 teams to earn 22 or more NCAA Tournament berths. The Lady Lions are 26-21 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 16-4 mark in home games.
PERFECT IN THE NCAAS AT THE BJC: The Bryce Jordan Center is hosting the NCAA tourney for the sixth time. Penn State is a perfect 8-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions were not in the NCAA Tournament when the BJC hosted in 2006.
COQUESE JOINS NCAA PLAYER-COACH GROUP: Head coach Coquese Washington, who is making her first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach, becomes the 30th person to play and coach in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. She is the fourth representative with Penn State ties, joining Joanie O'Brien, Susan Robinson Fruchtl and Terri Williams Flournoy, who each played for the Lady Lions.
SCOUTING DAYTON: The Flyers finished the regular season with a 21-11 overall record and 11-5 mark in Atlantic 10 play. Justine Raterman leads Dayton in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg), while Patrice Lalor dishes out 3.3 assists per game to compliment her 8.4 scoring average. Kristin Daugherty also averages double figures for the Flyers at a 12.5 per game clip.
ALL-TIME VS. THE FLYERS: The Lady Lions have split the only two games against Dayton with each team winning on the other squad's home court. Penn State picked up a 112-107 double overtime win in Dayton in this year's season opener on Nov. 12. The Flyers claimed
LAST TIME VS. UD: This is rematch of the season opener for both teams as the Lady Lions topped the Flyers on Nov. 12, 112-107 in double overtime. Zhaque Gray knocked down a pair of three-pointers inside of the final 1:20 of regulation to force overtime and finished the game with a career-high 27 points. Nikki Greene notched her second career double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions' Big Ten Tournament run came to an end with a 84-70 loss to No. 5 seed Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game March 6. It was Penn State's first appearance in the Championship game since a one-point loss to Purdue in the 2004 title bout. Sophomore Alex Bentley and freshman Maggie Lucas were both named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team. Sophomore Mia Nickson scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half to lead the Lady Lions. She also pulled in four rebounds in the loss. Bentley added 16 points, three assists and three steals, while Zhaque Gray chipped in 13 points and a pair of assists.
LUCAS MOVES INTO SINGLE-SEASON SCORING CHART: Freshman guard Maggie Lucas is currently 17th on Penn State's single-season scoring list iwth 533 tallies in 33 games. She needs 10 points to tie Kahadeejah Herbert for 16th place on the chart and 34 tallies to move into the Top 10 on the single-season list.
BIG TEN ALL-TOURNAMENT SQUAD: Sophomore guard Alex Bentley and freshman guard Maggie Lucas were selected to the Big Ten All-Tournament team. The pair are the first Lady Lions to take home All-Tournament honors since Kelly Mazzante and Jess Strom were named to the team in 2004. Bentley accounted for 15.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.0 steals in three tourney games, while Lucas added 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per outing. Lucas also shot 91.7% (11-12) from the free throw line in the tourney.
GRAY REACHES 100 TREYS: Junior guard Zhaque Gray became the 13th player in school history to register 100 career three-pointers with a trio of triples against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game March 6. Gray has also moved into ninth place on Penn State's single-season three-pointers list with 63 triples this season.
LUCAS MOVES INTO NCAA 3s CHART: With five three-pointers against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament March 5, freshman guard Maggie Lucas moved into the Top 15 on the NCAA Division I three-point field goals made list. She is currently tied for 15th with 110 triples. She needs five three-pointers to move into the Top 10.
BENTLEY REACHES 800 POINTS: With an 11-point performance against Illinois in the Big Ten semifinals March 5, sophomore guard Alex Bentley became the 43rd player in school history to reach the 800-point mark for her career.
TIMELY 20-POINT GAME: Senior guard Julia Trogele picked the perfect time to tally her first career 20-point game with 20 markers in the Big Ten semifinal win over Illinois March 5. She was 12-for-12 from the free throw line to tie the Big Ten Tournament single-game record for free throw percentage, joining three other others including former Lady Lion Tanisha Wright. Trogele had registered 19 points twice this season, but could not reach the elusive 20-point mark.
SIX DIFFERENT 20-POINT SCORERS: The Lady Lions have had six different players score 20 points in a game this season. Zhaque Gray, Alex Bentley, Mia Nickson, Maggie Lucas, Nikki Greene and Julia Trogele have each posted at least one 20-point game in 2010-11. The last time Penn State had six different 20-point scorers was 1993-94 when Tina Nicholson, Katina Mack, Helen Holloway, Carla Coleman, Missy Masley and Jackie Donovan accomplished the feat.
LUCAS BREAKS FRESHMAN SCORING RECORD: With eight points against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game March 6, rookie guard Maggie Lucas broke the Penn State freshman season scoring record, previously held by Kelly Mazzante. Lucas' 533 tallies surpass Mazzante's 529-point rookie campaign in 2000-01.
LUCAS BREAKS BIG TEN THREES MARK: With five three-pointers aginst Illinois in the Big Ten semifinal game March 5, freshman guard Maggie Lucas broke the Big Ten single-season three-pointers record. Lucas now has 110 triples on the season, passing Ohio State's Caity Matter (106 three-pointers) for first place on the Big Ten list. Additionally, Lucas tied with Mazzante for second place with 53 three-pointers in Big Ten play this year.
All-session and single-session tickets for the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament are now available and can be purchased by calling 814-865-5555 or visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. All-session tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for senior citizens and $15 for youth and students with a valid ID. Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth and students. Groups of 20 or more can purchase single-session tickets for $8 each. The first 100 Penn State students will get in for free for Saturday's game, courtesy of the Lady Lion Cager Club.
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