Jan. 17, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. 22/21 Penn State Lady Lions (13-4, 3-2) head to Champaign for their only meeting of the season with Illinois (6-12, 0-5) on Thursday at 8 p.m. (ET) in Assembly Hall. 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 Friday, Jan. 20 at 4 p.m.
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 53.7% from the field and Maggie Lucas and Alex Bentley each reached the 20-point mark as the Lady Lions earned a 93-73 win at No. 15/23 Nebraska to hand the Huskers their first-ever Big Ten loss. Lucas led all scorers with 24 points on 7-for-15 shooting en route to her 10th 20-point game of the season. She also contributed six rebounds and a steal in the win. Bentley accounted for 23 tallies via a 9-for-17 shooting effort to surpass the 1,100-point mark for her career. Bentley also contributed four steals and five rebounds.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS: The Fighting Illini are 6-12 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play after a tough loss at Northwestern Monday night. Karisma Penn leads the Illini attack with a 14.9 scoring mark and 8.1 rebounding average. She also averages 2.1 blocks per game. Kersten Magrum is second on the team in scoring with a 12.2 mark, while Amber Moore accounts for 9.1 points per outing.
ALL-TIME VS. THE ILLINI: The Lady Lions 27-14 all-time against Illinois, but are just 8-10 in games in Champaign. Penn State has won the last four games against the Illini, including a 79-64 win in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals last year. However, Illinois has won four of the last six games played at Assembly Hall.
LAST TIME VS. ILL: The Lady Lions used a record-breaking performance by Maggie Lucas and the first career 20-point performance by Julia Trogele to earn a 79-64 win over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Lucas finished the game with 23 points and in the process broke the Big Ten single-season three-pointers record. She also pulled in five rebounds with two steals. Trogele scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half. Her 12-for-12 performance from the free throw line tied the Big Ten Tournament record.
BIG TEN, BIG POINTS: The Lady Lions' 93 points in a 93-73 win over Nebraska Jan. 15 are the most points scored by a Penn State team against a Big Ten foe since a 95-62 win at Ohio State on Feb. 3, 2002. The 93 tallies were also the most points scored against Nebraska in the Devaney Center since giving up 94 points to Kansas State in the 2005 season.
ANOTHER RANKED WIN: The 93-73 win at Nebraska Jan. 15 marked the second win over a ranked opponent for the Lady Lions this season (#14/13 North Carolina). It was also the largest margin of victory over a ranked team since a 23-point win (77-54) over #23 Purdue on Jan. 20, 2005.
MIA DOUBLES AGAIN: Junior forward Mia Nickson posted her second double-double of the season and eighth of her career with 12 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes at Nebraska Jan. 15. Nickson also added a pair of assists and a block in the win.
HUSKER HISTORY QUESTION: With their win over Nebraska Jan. 15, the Lady Lions handed the Huskers their first Big Ten Conference loss. That win, coupled with the first-ever Big Ten win for Nebraska on Dec. 30, has made the Lady Lions an interesting trivia fact of being the team to give Nebraska its first Big Ten win and Big Ten loss.
BENTLEY MOVES INTO 28TH IN SCORING: With 23 points against Nebraska Jan. 15, junior guard Alex Bentley moved past Missy Masley (1,106; 1992-95) for 28th place on Penn State's career scoring list. Bentley now has 1,120 career points. She need 15 points to tie Sue Martin (1,135; 1977-80) for 27th place.
TENTH TIME TO 20: Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas turned in her 10th game with 20 or more points with 24 markers in the win at Nebraska Jan. 15. Lucas, who had 12 games with 20+ points as a freshman, scored 16 points in the closing half against the Cornhuskers to help spark the comeback. Lucas needs two points to reach the 900-point mark for her career.
BENTLEY CLIMBS THEFTS LIST: With four steals at Nebraska Jan. 15, junior guard Alex Bentley moved into 19th place on Penn State's career steals chart with 173 career thefts. She needs one steal 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 eight rebounds at Nebraska Jan. 15. Greene now has 598 career rebounds to pass Sue Martin (595; 1977-80) for 21st place on Penn State's career boards chart and tie Helen Holloway (598; 1991-94) for 20th spot. Greene needs 23 rebounds to move past Tanisha Wright (621; 2002-05) for 19th place. Additionally, Greene is in sixth place on the Penn State career blocks list with 152 rejections. She needs 20 blocks to move into the Top 5 all-time.
The Lady Lions return to the BJC to face Iowa on Sunday. It 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. Fans that donate a coat for Operation Warm can participate in a postgame autograph session with four Lady Lions. 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.