Jan. 13, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. RV/25 Penn State Lady Lions (12-4, 2-2) will hit the road for four of their next five games beginning with their first-ever trip to No. 15/23 Nebraska (15-1, 4-0) Sunday at 3:05 p.m. A live video broadcast will be available on BTN.com or you can listen to the game on WRSC in State College or on GoPSUsports.com All-Access.
TELEVISION: The game will air as a tape-delayed "Student U" broadcast on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at noon.
RADIO/LIVE STATS: The game is on WRSC locally, with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. The audio feed and live stats are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
WEBSTREAM: A live video broadcast will be available on BTN.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions shot 55.4% from the field and earned a convincing 78-63 victory against Michigan. Maggie Lucas posted her ninth 20-point game of the season with 22 tallies to pace the Lady Lions. She also added five assists and three steals. Lucas has scored 55 points in her last two games with 22 tallies tonight and 33 markers against Michigan State Saturday. Zhaque Gray totaled 15 points with four rebounds, while junior Alex Bentley had 12 points, a team-best six assists and four steals.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA: The Cornhuskers are 15th in this week's Associated Press poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll with a 15-1 overall record and 4-0 mark in conference play. Jordan Hooper continues to pace Nebraska as she ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring with a 20.3 average to go along with a team-best 8.8 rebounds. Lindsey Moore has also been solid for the Cornhuskers, contributing 16.6 points and 6.1 assists per game. Nebraska is solid on the glass, outrebounding opponents by a +7.4 per game margin.
ALL-TIME VS. THE CORNHUSKERS: The Lady Lions are 2-1 all-time against Nebraska, but suffered their first loss to the Huskers with a 71-63 decision in the Big Ten opener in Happy Valley Dec. 30. This will be Penn State's first-ever trip to Lincoln.
LAST TIME VS. UNL: The Lady Lions scored just seven points over the final 12:53 on the way to a 71-63 loss to Nebraska on Dec. 30 in the Big Ten opener. Alex Bentley had 22 points to go along with a career-high eight steals. The eight thefts are the most by a Lady Lion since Kelly Mazzante had eight steals against Fairfield on Dec. 2, 2001. Maggie Lucas tallied 18 points to go along with seven rebounds.
INITIAL TRIP TO NEBRASKA: The Lady Lions are visiting the state of Nebraska for the first time in program history on Sunday. Of the three times that Penn State has faced the Cornhuskers, two of them took place in Happy Valley and the third was in San Diego, Calif. The Lady Lions have never faced the other Division I schools in the state of Nebraska (Creighton and Nebraska-Omaha).
NINTH TIME TO 20: Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas turned in her ninth game with 20 or more points with 22 markers in the win over Michigan Jan. 12. Lucas, who had 12 games with 20+ points as a freshman, scored 17 points in the opening half against the Wolverines. Between the second half of the Michigan State game (28 pts.) and the first half against Michigan, Lucas scored 45 points in that two-period span.
BENTLEY ADDS NAME TO THEFTS LIST: With four steals against Michigan Jan. 12, junior guard Alex Bentley moved into the Top 20 on Penn State's career steals chart. Her 169 career thefts are tied for 19th with Carla Coleman (1991-95) and Tiffany Longworth (1994-97). Bentley needs five steals to tie Angie Potthoff (174; 193-97) for 18th spot.
GREENE MOVING UP CHARTS: Junior center Nikki Greene is steadily moving up the career charts after pulling in nine rebounds against Michigan Jan. 12. Greene now has 590 career rebounds to pass Kim Calhoun (583; 1993-96) for 22nd place on Penn State's career boards chart. Greene needs six rebounds to move past Sue Martin (595; 1977-80) for 21st place. Additionally, Greene is in sixth place on the Penn State career blocks list with 151 rejections. She needs 21 blocks to move into the Top 5 all-time.
The Lady Lions continue their road swing at Illinois (Jan. 19) before returning to the BJC to face Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 22. The Iowa game is a Subway Full Court 4-pack game and it's Kids Day where all kids that in 8th grade or younger will be admitted for FREE if they wear Lady Lion Basketball gear. Single game tickets, PNC Flex Books and Starting 5 ticket packages are available by calling 800-NITTANY. PNC Flex Books are $99 and give 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 Starting 5 Pack is $49 and features tickets to three games of the buyer's choice, a ticket for the Ohio State ESPN2 Big Monday game on Monday, Feb. 20 and a ticket for the Pink Zone game against Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 26.
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.