Feb. 3, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. 19/21 Penn State Lady Lions (17-5, 7-3) will once again don their road blues as they travel to Minneapolis to face Minnesota (12-12, 4-6) at Williams Arena Sunday at 3 p.m. (ET). The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and ESPN Radio 1450 locally with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. The audio feed is also available at www.GoPSUsports.com. There will also be a live video feed on gophersports.com.
RADIO/LIVE STATS: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and ESPN Radio 1450 locally with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. The audio feed and live stats are available at www.GoPSUsports.com. There will also be a live video feed on gophersports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions secured a convincing 76-44 victory against Indiana Thursday at the BJC. Three Lady Lions posted double-digit points, lead by sophomore guard Maggie Lucas' 24 points for her 13th 20-point performance of the season. Junior Nikki Greene was 7-for-12 from the field to finish with 17 points and six rebounds, while junior Gizelle Studevent tied her career-high with 10 after hitting five of her six shot attempts.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers are 12-12 overall and 4-6 in Big Ten play after a tough loss at Illinois Thursday. Freshman Rachel Banham has been a solid addition to the Minnesota lineup, contributing a team-best 15.8 points to go along with 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Kiara Buford is also averaging double-digits at a 13.9 per game clip, while Katie Loberg is third on the team in scoring (10.2) and tops in rebounding (7.0) and blocks (1.0).
ALL-TIME VS. THE GOPHERS: The Lady Lions are 22-11 all-time against Minnesota, but the Golden Gophers have won eight of the last 11 games against the Lady Lions. Additionally, Penn State is just 8-8 in games played in Minneapolis, including losses in the last seven meetings in the Barn. The Lady Lions picked up a 58-54 win in the BJC in the only meeting between the squads last year on Jan. 13.
LAST TIME VS. MINN: The Lady Lions used a 22-7 run to erase an 11-point second-half deficit on the way to a 58-54 win over Minnesota on Jan. 13, 2011. Maggie Lucas paced the Lady Lion offense with 20 points, including going 4-for-5 from three-point range in the second half. Mia Nickson posted her second career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Bentley added six points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
SUPER SUNDAY: The Lady Lions are 14-7 all-time in games played on Super Bowl Sunday, including an 82-75 win at Iowa last year. Penn State is 6-3 in road games played on Super Bowl Sunday and 8-4 in home games.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas is closing in on the 1,000-point plateau as she needs eight points to become the third sophomore and 34th player overall in Penn State history to reach the milestone. When she does reach the mark, she will join Kelly Mazzante (47 games) and Susan Robinson (53 games) as the only Lady Lions to get 1,000 points as a sophomore.
BOUNCEBACK ABILITY: The Lady Lions have bounced back well from losses this season. Penn State is 5-0 in games after a loss this season, beating its opponents by an average of 24.6 points per game.
PAIR POSTS CAREER MARKS: Junior guard Gizelle Studevent and sophomore center Talia East each had career nights in the win over Indiana Feb. 2. Studevent tied her career high for with 10 markers on 5-of-6 shooting. She also had 10 points at Oakland on Nov. 18, 2010. East had a career-high nine points, surpassing her previous personal mark of eight points, set twice this season.
BENTLEY MOVES UP A SCORING SPOT: With five points against Indiana Feb. 2, junior guard Alex Bentley moved past Bethany Collins (1,186; 1985-88) for 24th place on Penn State's career scoring list. With 1,187 career points, Bentley needs 46 points to tie Amanda Brown (1,233; 2004-07) for 23rd spot.
THIRTEENTH TIME TO 20: Sophomore guard Maggie Lucas turned in her 13th game with 20 or more points with 24 markers in the win over Indiana Feb. 2. Lucas, who had 12 games with 20+ points as a freshman, was 4-for-7 from long range against the Hoosiers.
PINK ZONE GAME TIME: The Penn State Lady Lions will host the Sixth Annual WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State game against Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
The Lady Lions are back in the BJC to face Wisconsin on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. for a Dollar Dog Night game. Penn State hits the road for a pair of games at Northwestern (Feb. 12) and at Purdue (Feb. 16). Both games will air on the Big Ten Network. Single game tickets and PNC Flex Books 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, which 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 at 2 p.m. 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.