Feb. 22, 2013
Michigan Game Notes (2/24/13) | Listen |
Tickets! | Promotions | LadyLions.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #7/9 Penn State Lady Lions (22-3, 12-1 Big Ten) close out their regular-season home schedule with a bang as they host Michigan (19-7, 8-5) Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center for the Annual Pink Zone at Penn State game. It is also Senior Day and the Lady Lions will honor their five seniors in a pre-game ceremonies beginning at 12:40 p.m. In addition, Sunday's game has Big Ten title implications as the Lady Lions can clinch at least a share of their second consecutive Big Ten regular-season title with a win over the Wolverines.
The doors of the Bryce Jordan Center will open at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The annual Pink Zone at Penn State game honors breast cancer survivors and also raises awareness and funds for six breast cancer charities.
TV: The game will air live on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington (play-by-play), Patricia Babcock-McGraw (color) and Dave Leno (sideline) calling the action.
GIVEAWAY: Fans will receive a pink silicon wristband at the gates, while supplies last.
PROMOTIONS: $3 of every single-game ticket sold to Sunday's game will go to the Pink Zone fundraising efforts. Tickets are $15 (baseline-to-baseline) and $12 (all others) for adults and seniors and $9 (baseline-to-baseline) and $7 (all others) for youth (12 and younger).
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.
2013 WBCA PINK ZONE: The Pink Zone at Penn State is an annual event where the Lady Lions honor breast cancer survivors, bring awareness to breast cancer and raise funds to continue to the fight against breast cancer. Last year, the Lady Lions donated nearly $203,000 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.pennsylvaniapinkzone.org.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lady Lions used a 61.1% shooting effort, their first time better than 60% in a game since 1996, in a 95-62 victory over Illinois on Wednesday. Junior Maggie Lucas just missed out on her second career double-double with 22 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Senior Alex Bentley filled the stat sheet with 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals. Senior Mia Nickson scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN: The Wolverines are 19-7 overall and 8-5 in Big Ten. Kate Thompson paces Michigan with a 15.1 scoring average, including 96 three-pointers on the year. Rachel Sheffer adds 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing, while Jenny Ryan also averages double figures with an 11.0 scoring mark to go along with 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
ALL-TIME VS. THE WOLVERINES: The Lady Lions are 29-9 all-time against Michigan, including a 14-2 mark in games played in Happy Valley. The Lady Lions have won their last five games against the Wolverines, including a 59-49 win in Ann Arbor earlier this season. The Lady Lions have won seven of their last eight games against the Wolverines.
LAST TIME VS. UM: The Lady Lions used a late 12-0 run to secure a 59-49 win over the #23/RV Michigan Wolverines Jan. 21. Junior guard Maggie Lucas connected on a trio of threes en route to 19 points with four rebounds and a steal, while Alex Bentley chipped in 16 points with a pair of rebounds, three assists and a game-best five steals. Senior center Nikki Greene posted her fourth consecutive double digit rebounding performance with 11 caroms to go with eight points and three blocks.
BENTLEY IS LIEBERMAN FINAL NOMINEE: Senior Alex Bentley has been named a final nominee for the 14th annual Nancy Lieberman Award as announced by the Rotary Club of Detroit. Bentley is one of seven players on the list, joining Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Angel Goodrich (Kansas), Chelsea Gray (Duke), Lindsey Moore (Nebraska), Odyssey Sims (Baylor) and Haley Steed (BYU). The Lieberman Award is a national project of the Rotary Club of Detroit honoring the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. The announcement of the three finalists and winner will be made during the Final Four Weekend (April 7-9, 2013).
SIZZLING SHOOTING NIGHT: The Lady Lions shot 61.1% from field in the 95-62 win over Illinois on Feb. 20. It is the first time Penn State that shot better than 60% in a game since Feb. 23, 1996 versus Michigan State (.608). The 61.1% effort from the field is the highest shooting percentage for the Lady Lions in a Big Ten game since joining the conference in 1992-93 and is also Penn State's highest shooting percentage since knocking down 63.3% of its shots against Morgan State on Dec. 29, 1993. It is also the first time since Jan. 26, 2006 (vs. Iowa) that Penn State shot better than 55% in each half. Additionally, the 95 points scored by the Lady Lions are the most in a conference game since the 95-62 victory at Ohio State on Feb. 3, 2002.
NICE BIG TEN START: The Lady Lions started conference play with a 12-1 record for the first time since the 2003-04 team went 15-1. Additionally, the Lady Lions were undefeated through their first seven conference games for the first time since 2004-05.
A-PLUS PERFORMANCE FROM AGEE: Freshman center Candice Agee turned in a solid performance in the win over Illinois on Feb. 20. She was 2-for-4 from the field and 4-for-8 from the free throw line en route to a career high-tying eight points. She previously had eight tallies against NJIT and Fairleigh Dickinson. Agee also registered a personal best three blocks against the Illini.
BACKCOURT 20S: The Lions' dominate backcourt of Maggie Lucas and Alex Bentley continued to shine against Illinois on Feb. 20. The pair combined for 42 of Penn State's 95 points and 12 of the Lady Lions' 19 assists. Lucas posted her 43rd career 20-point game and 12th of the season with 22 markers. She also had five assists to reach the 200-helper mark for her career. Bentley recorded her 24th career 20-point game and fifth of the season with 20 tallies. Bentley also chipped in a game-high seven assists and five steals.
PICKING UP Ws IN THE BJC: With the 95-62 win over Illinois on Feb. 20, the Lady Lions extended their home court winning streak to 19 games, which is the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I and the sixth-longest streak in school history. The Lady Lions last lost at home Jan. 7, 2012 to Michigan State. In addition, PSU's seven home conference wins are the most for the Lady Lions since 2006-07 (7).
Penn State closes out the regular-season with road games at Minnesota on Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. (ET) and Nebraska on March 2 at 6 p.m. (ET), both of which can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
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.