Lady Lions Officially Open 2011-12 Season with Monday PracticeLady Lions Officially Open 2011-12 Season with Monday Practice

Lady Lions Officially Open 2011-12 Season with Monday Practice

Oct. 10, 2011

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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lion basketball team will open their 2011-12 season with their first official on Monday, October 10 at 4 p.m., in the South Gym at the Bryce Jordan Center. Head coach Coquese Washington and the Lady Lions are coming off of their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2004-05 season where they advanced to the second round. Penn State returns 10 letterwinners, including four starters in Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.), Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.), Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.) and Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas).

Bentley is on the 2012 Preseason Wade Watch list for the nation's top women's basketball player after earning first team All-Big Ten a year ago. As a sophomore, she finished in the Top 15 in the Big Ten in scoring (12th/14.4), assists (2nd/5.0), field goal percentage (14th/.446), free throw percentage (11th/.798) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4th/1.7). Nickson accounted for 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Starting the final 27 games of the season, the sophomore was ninth in the Big Ten in rebounding and 14th in free throw percentage (.795). She finished second in the league in field goal percentage with a .521 effort on the year and was third in offensive rebounds (3.2). She tallied six double-doubles on the season, including a 14-point, 10-rebound performance against Dayton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Gray made a marked improvement between her sophomore and junior years as she improved on her three-point shooting by 11% (.303 to .414) and her field goal shooting by 8.5% (.338 to .423). With a 9.5 scoring average, the Chicago native also nearly doubled her scoring output to finish fourth on the team. Greene became one of the top shot-blocking forces in the conference en route to Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors. She tallied a career-best 75 rejections, which is sixth on the Penn State single-season list, and is the seventh player in school history with 100 blocks. The All-Big Ten honorable mention choice also accounted for 7.8 rebounds per game to rank sixth in the Big Ten.

Additionally, Penn State returns 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and 2011 Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.). She etched her name into the Penn State and Big Ten record books in her outstanding rookie campaign as she broke the Big Ten and Penn State single-season record for three-pointers (112). Additionally, Lucas broke Kelly Mazzante's Penn State freshman season scoring record with 552 tallies.

The Lady Lions, who will face Bloomsburg in an exhibition on Sat., Nov. 5, open their season with the Lady Lion Classic on Fri., Nov. 11 and Sun., Nov. 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State faces Washington State in the tourney opener at 6 p.m. Friday, while Middle Tennessee State takes on UNC-Wilmington at 8 p.m. Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are available by calling 814-867-2557. Season tickets are $117 for adults, $52 for youth and $91 for seniors. Single game tickets go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 11. 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 2012 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 as the Lady Lions take on Minnesota in the Bryce Jordan Center. Last year, the Lady Lions donated nearly $200,000 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, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and Lewistown 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.