Nov. 9, 2011
Lady Lion Classic Game Notes| Tournament Central
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #12/14 Penn State Lady Lions (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will officially open the 2011-12 season by hosting the Lady Lion Classic Friday and Sunday. Penn State will meet Washington State at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by Middle Tennessee vs. UNC-Wilmington at 8 p.m. Sunday's games will be determined following Friday's games, but tip times are noon and 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office.
FRIDAY PROMOTIONS/GIVEAWAY: The first 2,500 fans will receive a 2011-12 Lady Lion Basketball schedule magnet Friday night. Penn State students will get in for free with their ID all season long for Lady Lion games. Duo Design will be performing at halftime.
SUNDAY PROMOTIONS/GIVEAWAY: Fans will receive a 2011-12 Lady Lion Basketball poster. Additionally, Sunday's game is a Subway Full Court 4-Pack game where fans can get four reserved game tickets, one voucher good for four 6-inch subs at any of seven State College Subway and one voucher good for four soft drinks at the BJC locations for just $40. Penn State students will get in for free with their ID all season long for Lady Lion games.
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.
OPENERS RECORD: The Lady Lions are 35-12 all-time in season openers, including wins to begin the last five seasons. Penn State has never lost a season-opener under Coquese Washington. Additionally, the Lady Lions are 39-8 all-time in home openers, including a 12-3 mark in the BJC.
TOURNEY HISTORY: Penn State is hosting a tournament for the first time since winning the WBCA Classic to open the 2007-08 campaign. The Lady Lions are 123-49 in regular-season tournament play with 26 titles. The Lady Lions have won a pair of tourney crowns under Coquese Washington in the WBCA Classic and the Dead River Company Classic.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars were 8-23 overall and 6-12 in Pac-10 play a year ago. WSU posted its most conference wins and highest scoring average (63.0 ppg) since the 2000-01 campaign. Leading the list of returnees for the Cougars are all-conference honorable mention selections Jazmine Perkins and Sage Romberg.
ALL-TIME VS. THE COUGARS: This will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Lions and the Cougars. Penn State is 12-6 all-time against current Pac-12 members, including a 70-58 win over Utah in the Caribbean Challenge last season.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE: The Blue Raiders were 23-8 overall with a 14-2 mark in conference en route to their 14th NCAA Tournament berth. MTSU returns 2011 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Ebony Rowe, who averaged 17.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BLUE RAIDERS: Middle Tennessee took home a 79-65 win over the Lady Lions in the Blazer Invitational on Dec. 18, 2005. Adrienne Squire led Penn State with 19 points and five rebounds. The Lady Lions are 3-3 all-time against current Sun Belt members.
SCOUTING UNC-WILMINGTON: The Seahawks posted a school-record 24 victories and made their first postseason appearance in school history a year ago. Sophomore Alisha Andrews is a preseason All-CAA selection after averaging 10.8 points per game and 5.0 assists. Jessica Freeman also returns for the Seahawks after starting in 32 games last year.
ALL-TIME VS. THE SEAHAWKS: This will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Lions and UNC-Wilmington. Penn State is 18-14 all-time against Colonial Athletic Association schools, including a 1-1 mark last season (defeated Delaware; lost to Drexel).
QUESE AND COOP: If Penn State meets UNC-Wilmington, Lady Lion head coach Coquese Washington will square off against one of her close friends and former WNBA teammate Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who is now the Seahawks' head coach. The pair combined to lead the Houston Comets to the 200 WNBA Championship. They met once before in head coaching roles when Cooper was at Prairie View A&M, an 80-49 win for the Lions.
The Lady Lions begin a four-game road swing at Delaware on Thursday, before visiting South Carolina (Nov. 20). Penn State topped the Blue Hens last season, 64-55 in the Bryce Jordan Center, led by 16 points from Maggie Lucas off of the bench. 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.