Jan. 1, 2013
Northwestern Game Notes (1/3/13) | Watch | Listen |
Tickets! | Promotions | LadyLions.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #9/9 Penn State Lady Lions (10-2, 0-0 Big Ten) begin their Big Ten title defense when they face Northwestern (8-5, 0-0) Thursday, January 3 at 7 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Big Ten opener is a Subway Full Court 4-Pack game where fans will receive four reserved game tickets and one voucher for four 6" subs and four 21 oz. fountain drinks at any of the seven State College Subway locations for just $40! Thursday is also Dollar Dog Night at the BJC.
PROMOTIONS: The Big Ten opener is a Subway Full Court 4-Pack game where fans will receive four reserved game tickets and one voucher for four 6" subs and four 21 oz. fountain drinks at any of the seven State College Subway locations for just $40! Additionally, fans with a First Night State college button can get a buy one ticket, get one free offer. Thursday is also Dollar Dog Night at the BJC.
POSTGAME: Lady Lions Gizelle Studevent and Candice Agee will be on the concourse to sign autographs postgame.
RADIO/LIVE STATS: The game is on WRSC locally with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. A link to the audio feed and GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com. The game is also available as a live webstream on the BTDN on Penn State All-Access (BTN.com).
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions cruised to an 82-37 victory over the NJIT Highlanders (6-7) Dec. 23. Penn State held the Highlanders to nine first-half points, the fewest allowed by the Lady Lions in a half since giving up seven to Rider on Nov. 14, 2010. Junior guard Maggie Lucas led the way for the Lady Lions, collecting game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (8). Lucas shot 7-for-11 from the field, including an impressive 5-for-8 from three-point range. Lucas led a total of four Lady Lions with double-digit performances; senior Nikki Greene tallied 12 points, while senior Alex Bentley and junior Ariel Edwards each added 10.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats started the season 6-0, but have lost five of their last seven to head into the Big Ten opener with an 8-5 record. Kendall Hackney leads five players averaging double figures with a 14.5 scoring average. Hackney also pulls in 6.5 rebounds per game. Maggie Lyon accounts for 14.5 points and 4.6 boards per outing. Dannielle Diamant has been steady for the Wildcats, accounting for 12.6 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game.
ALL-TIME VS. THE WILDCATS: The Lady Lions are 30-7 all-time against Northwestern, including five consecutive wins. Penn State is 16-1 all-time against the Wildcats in home games and are riding an 11-game home court winning streak against NU. Last season, the squads only squared off once with the Lady Lions earning a 77-63 win in Evanston.
LAST TIME VS. NU: The Lady Lions landed four players in double figures en route to a 77-63 win at Northwestern on Feb. 12, 2012. Alex Bentley led the Penn State effort with 18 points on a 7-for-12 effort from the field, while Maggie Lucas narrowly missed out on her first career double-double with 11 points to go along with a career-high tying nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Zhaque Gray, playing in front of her hometown crowd for the final time, had 17 points and tied her personal mark with six assists.
BIG TEN OPENERS: The Lady Lions are 11-9 in Big Ten openers since joining the conference in 1993. However, the Lions have only won one Big Ten opener in the last seven years (2010-11). Additionally, Penn State is 14-6 in Big Ten home openers since 1993.
GREENE MOVES UP BLOCKS LIST: Senior center Nikki Greene moved into a tie for third place on Penn State's career rejections chart after recording one rejection against NJIT Dec. 23. With 189 career blocks, Greene is tied with Rashana Barnes (189; 1999-02) for the third spot. Greene needs three rejections to tie Mary Donovan (192, 1977-81) for second spot.
DOUBLE DIGITS IN NON-CON: With a win over NJIT to close out the non-conference season Dec. 23, the Lady Lions secured double digit non-conference wins for the third-straight season.
LUCAS INTO TOP 15 IN CAREER SCORING: Junior Maggie Lucas moved into the Top 15 on Penn State's career scoring list with her 21-point performance against NJIT Dec. 23. The 21 tallies bring Lucas' career total to 1,445 points, passing Jen Bednarek (1,428; 1977-80) for the 15th spot.
THEFT BY A BENTLEY: Senior guard Alex Bentley registered a career high eight steals against NJIT Dec. 23. The eight thefts ties her career mark set against Nebraska Dec. 30, 2011. With the performance, Bentley moved into seventh place on Penn State's all-time steals chart, passing Nancy Kuhl (257; 1975-79). Bentley has 264 career thefts and needs 10 steals to tie Tanisha Wright (267; 2002-05) for sixth place all-time.
PICKING UP Ws IN THE BJC: With the win over NJIT Dec. 23, the Lady Lions extended their home court winning streak to 12 games, which is tied for the 10th-longest active streak in NCAA Division I. The Lady Lions last lost at home Jan. 7, 2012 to Michigan State.
LUCAS PASSES SHEPHERD ON 3s CHART: With five three-pointers against NJIT Dec. 23, Maggie Lucas passed Lisa Shepherd (230; 1998-01) for second place all-time in three-pointers made chart. With 234 career three-pointers made, Lucas now sets her sights on Kelly Mazzante, who holds the all-time three-pointers record with 357 career triples.
The Lady Lions travel to Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 2:15 p.m. for a BTN-televised game before returning to the BJC where they will face Nebraska on Sun., Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. for THON Day and Alumni Day. Go to www.GoPSUsports.com/promotions/wbb.html for complete promotions information.
Single game tickets for the Lady Lions are on sale now. Tickets are $15 and $12 for adults and seniors and $9 and $7 for youth (12 and younger). The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions' Pink Zone game.
The 2013 Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 24 as the Lady Lions take on Michigan in the Bryce Jordan Center. Last year, the Lady Lions donated a record $203,000 to 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.pennsylvaniapinkzone.org.
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.