Feb. 12, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The conference season is winding down for the #8/9 Penn State Lady Lions (20-3, 10-1 Big Ten) with only five Big Ten games remaining on the slate, beginning with a road game at Iowa (16-9, 5-6) on Thursday at 8 p.m. (Eastern). A live webstream of the game is available on the BTDN on Penn State All-Access or BTN.com for a fee.
LIVE WEBSTREAM: A live webstream of the game is available on the BTDN on Penn State All-Access or BTN.com for a fee.
RADIO/LIVE STATS: The game is on WRSC 1390 locally with Jerry Fisher and Brian Tripp calling the action. A link to the audio feed and GameTracker are available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
TV: The game will be rebroadcast as a "Student U" production on Friday, Feb. 15 at 10:30 a.m. on the Big Ten Network.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions notched the program's 25th 20-win season with a 71-56 victory over Michigan State Sunday. Penn State sported three players in double-figures with senior Alex Bentley leading the way with 24 points to go along with three assists and four steals. Junior Maggie Lucas netted 19 points with five rebounds and two assists, while senior Nikki Greene chipped in 13 points and six rebounds to go along with three blocks. The Lady Lions accounted for 17 steals, the fifth time this season in which they have recorded at least 17 thefts. Junior Dara Taylor, senior Mia Nickson and Bentley each recorded four steals.
SCOUTING IOWA: The Hawkeyes are 16-9 overall and 5-6 in conference play, but have dropped their last four games, including a tough 76-75 decision to Nebraska. Morgan Johnson paces Iowa with a 15.1 scoring average to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Jaime Printy is also averaging double figures at 14.4 tallies per outing, while Melissa Dixon has knocked down 54 three-pointers en route to a 9.2 scoring mark.
ALL-TIME VS. THE HAWKEYES: The Lady Lions are 24-17 all-time against Iowa. Penn State is just 7-11 in games played in Iowa City, but have won their last two trips. The Lady Lions have won their last three games and five of the last six meetings against the Hawkeyes, including a 68-52 win in their only meeting against Iowa last year.
LAST TIME VS. IOWA: The Lady Lions used a 20-2 run over the final 6:32 to erase a two-point deficit and claim a 68-52 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 22, 2012. Ariel Edwards posted her first career double-double with a personal bests of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Bentley led the Lions with 21 points and tied her career-best with seven boards. Bentley also nabbed six steals. Nikki Greene led the Lady Lions with 13 rebounds.
BENTLEY TABBED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Alex Bentley was selected as the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for the week-ending Feb. 11. She shares the award with Nebraska's Jordan Hooper after averaging 22.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.0 assists in a pair of wins for the Lady Lions. She surpassed the 300-steal mark for career in the win over Michigan State.
25TH 20-WIN SEASON: The Feb. 10 win over Michigan State marked the 20th of the season for the Lady Lions. It is the third-straight 20-win season and 25th overall for Penn State. It is the first time that the Lions have had three consecutive 20-win seasons since the 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 campaigns.
DOUBLE DIGIT B1G WINS: The win over Michigan State on Feb. 10 gave the Lady Lions 10 wins in conference play, marking the 14th time that Penn State has posted double figure wins in 21 seasons as a member of the Big Ten.
NICE BIG TEN START: The Lady Lions started conference play with a 10-1 record for the first time since the 2003-04 season, which also started 10-1. Additionally, the Lady Lions were undefeated through their first seven conference games for the first time since 2004-05.
300 THEFTS BY A BENTLEY: Senior guard Alex Bentley nabbed four steals against Michigan State on Feb. 10 to surpass the 300-steal mark in her career. Bentley is just the fourth player in Penn State history with 300 thefts, joining Suzie McConnell, Helen Darling and Jess Strom. Additionally, Bentley is the 15th player in Big Ten history to accomplish the feat.
LUCAS MOVING UP BIG TEN THREES LIST: With a trio of three-pointers versus Michigan State on Feb. 10, junior guard Maggie Lucas moved into a tie for fourth place on the Big Ten's all-time three-pointers list. She is tied with Iowa's Lindsey Meder (261; 1999-02) for fourth position. With 261 career threes, Lucas needs nine triples to tie Ohio State's Caity Matter (270; 2001-05) for third place. PSU's Kelly Mazzante holds the Big Ten record with 357 makes from beyond the arc.
RACKING UP STEALS: The Lady Lions have recorded at least 17 steals in five contests this year. By comparison, the season-high for steals in a game all of last season was 17. The five games with 17 or more steals are the most since the 1993-94 squad had six games with 17 or more thefts.
GREENE CLIMBS BOARDS LIST: Senior center Nikki Greene moved into fifth place on Penn State's career rebounding chart with six boards versus Michigan State Feb. 10. With 922 career caroms, she passes Angie Potthoff (918; 1993-97) for fifth position. Greene needs 21 rebounds to tie Vicki Link (943; 1984-87) for fourth place.
BENTLEY IN GREAT COMPANY: With four steals versus Michigan State on Feb. 10, Alex Bentley became the fourth player in Big Ten history and second player in Lady Lion history to accumulate 1,500 points, 500 assists and 300 steals. Bentley joins the Big Ten list that includes: Yvette Angel, Ohio State (1982-85; 1,563-562-326), Tamara Moore, Wisconsin (1999-02; 1,662-554-353) and Katie Douglas, Purdue (1998-01; 1,965-526-327). Additionally, Bentley joins Suzie McConnell (1985-88; 1,897-1,307-507) as the only Lady Lions to accomplish the feat. Bentley has 1,649 points, 535 assists and 300 steals in her career.
AB CLIMBS INTO SCORING TOP 10: Senior point guard Alex Bentley tallied 24 points versus Michigan State on Feb. 10 to jump teammate Maggie Lucas (1,648) for ninth place on Penn State's career scoring chart by a single point. Bentley recorded 20 points at Indiana on Feb. 7 to pass Andrea Garner (1,619; 1997-00) for the 10th spot. Bentley has 1,649 career points and needs 14 tallies to tie Lisa Shepherd (1,663; 1998-01) for eighth place.
PICKING UP Ws IN THE BJC: With the 71-56 win over Michigan State on Feb. 10, the Lady Lions extended their home court winning streak to 18 games, which is the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I and the seventh-longest streak in school history. The Lady Lions last lost at home Jan. 7, 2012 to Michigan State.
LUCAS ON SEASON THREES CHART (AGAIN): With three three-pointer versus Michigan State on Feb. 10, junior guard Maggie Lucas moved into a tie for eighth place on Penn State's single-season three-pointers list (67), equalling the mark set by Lisa Shepher in 1998-99. Lucas needs three triples to tie Chrissy Falcone (70; 1999-00) and Lisa Shepherd (70; 1999-00) for sixth place. Lucas is on the list for the third time in her career, joining Kelly Mazzante as the only players on the list three or more times. Lucas owns the school record for triples in a season with 112 as a freshman in 2010-11.
BEST START SINCE 1999-00: With a 20-3 record, the Lady Lions are off to their best 23-game start since the 1999-00 squad started 26-3. That team went on to win the Big Ten regular-season title and advanced to the only Final Four in school history.
Following the bye, Penn State returns home for its final two home games versus (2/20) and Michigan (2/24) for the annual Pink Zone game. The Illinois game features the Mia Nickson Wind-Up Walker giveaway to the first 2,000 fans and Dollar Dog Night. 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.