Jan. 25, 2013
Ohio State Game Notes (1/27/13) | Listen |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #8/8 Penn State Lady Lions (16-2, 6-0 Big Ten) look to remain unbeaten in Big Ten play when they open a two-game road trip at Ohio State (11-8, 1-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Stephanie White (color) on the call.
TV: The game will air live on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Stephanie White (color) on the call.
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. A link to the audio feed and GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions used four free throws from Maggie Lucas and two steals from Dara Taylor to secure a hard-fought 64-59 victory over Minnesota on Thursday. Senior Nikki Greene became the 35th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau with nine tallies. Additionally, Greene was big on the boards, grabbing 13 rebounds for her fifth consecutive game with double digit rebounds. Lucas netted her 40th career 20-point game for the Lady Lions scoring 26 points. The junior filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shots.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes are 11-8 on the season with a 1-5 mark in Big Ten play. Tayler Hill is tops in the Big Ten in scoring at a 20.6 per game clip. She also accounts for 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Amber Stokes is averaging 9.7 points per game, but has missed the last four contests with a knee injury. Ashley Adams has been the force inside for the Buckeyes, contributing 9.3 points, a team-best 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BUCKEYES: The Lady Lions are 32-21 all-time against Ohio State, but have won just two of the last 15 meetings with the Buckeyes. Penn State is 11-9 in road games versus the Buckeyes. Penn State won the only meeting between the squads last year, an 84-66 decision at the Bryce Jordan Center to clinch the Big Ten title on Feb. 20.
LAST TIME VS. OSU: The Lady Lions had three players record double-doubles in a wire-to-wire win over Ohio State, 84-66, Feb. 20, 2012 to clinch the Big Ten title. Nikki Greene turned in a 25-point, 15-rebound performance, while Mia Nickson posted her third double-double of the season with 18 points and 15 boards. Maggie Lucas was the third Lady Lion to tally a double-double with 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
BEST START SINCE 1999-00: With a 16-2 record, the Lady Lions are off to their best start since the 1999-00 season. The 1999-00 squad started the season 16-2 and went on to finish with a 30-5 mark and a trip to the Final Four.
STREAKING: The Lady Lions are riding a 10-game winning streak after a 64-59 win over Minnesota on Jan. 24. The streak is tied for the sixth longest streak in school history and is the tied for the fourth longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
CONFERENCE STREAKING: Penn State has won its last 13 Big Ten regular-season games, dating back to last season. It is the longest conference winning streak since the Lions won a school record 13-straight over the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons. The Lady Lions last lost in Big Ten play on Jan. 29, 2012 at Michigan State.
BIG TEN START: With a 59-49 win at Michigan Jan. 21, the Lady Lions moved to 6-0 in conference play. It was the first time since the 2004-05 season that Penn State has won it's first four games. The 2004-05 squad opened league play with a 7-0 mark.
NIKKI HITS 1,000 POINTS: Senior center Nikki Greene became the 35th player in school history with 1,000 career points after tallying nine markers against Minnesota on Jan. 24. Greene now has 1,004 career tallies to rank 35th in program history. She is one of three currently Lady Lions in the 1,000-point club, joining Alex Bentley and Maggie Lucas. Greene needs 18 points to tie Helen Holloway (1,022; 1991-94) for 34th place on PSU's all-time scoring chart.
LUCAS CLIMBS ONE SPOT IN ALL-TIME SCORING: Junior Maggie Lucas moved up one spot on Penn State's career scoring list with her 26-point performance versus Minnesota Jan. 24. The 26 tallies push Lucas past Tanya Garner (1,538; 1988-91) for 11th place on PSU's career list. Lucas' career total is now at 1,556 points. Lucas is chasing teammate Alex Bentley (1,555) for the 10th spot and needs 63 points to tie Andrea Garner (1,619; 1997-00) for ninth place.
NICKSON ON BOARDS LIST: With three caroms against Minnesota Jan. 24, senior Mia Nickson moved into a tie for 25th place on Penn State's career rebounds list with 531 caroms. With her performance against Minnesota, Nickson passed Ashli Schwab (530; 2002-05) for 26th and is now tied with Lorraine McGirt (531; 1983-85) for 25th spot. Nickson needs 32 rebounds to tie Kelly Mazzante (563; 2001-04) for 24th place.
The Lady Lions continues its two-game road trip by traveling to Wisconsin Jan. 31. Penn State returns home on Monday, Feb. 4 to face Purdue in a Big Monday battle on ESPN2. The Purdue game will be Centre County Women's Resource Night and fans that bring an item off of the CCWRC's needed items list will receive $5 off their ticket. Go to www.GoPSUsports.com/promotions/wbb.html for complete promotions information.
Single game tickets for the Lady Lions are on sale. 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.