March 1, 2013
Nebraska Game Notes (3/3/13) | Listen | Live Stats
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #7/7 Penn State Lady Lions (23-4, 13-2 Big Ten) will close out the regular-season and take another shot at clinching the Big Ten regular-season crown outright when they travel to #20/25 Nebraska (22-6, 12-3) Sunday for a 6 p.m. (ET) tip. A win over the Huskers will secure the outright regular-season crown for the second-straight season. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler and LaChina Robinson calling the action.
TV: The game will air live on the Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler and LaChina Robinson calling the action.
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: Minnesota shot 66.7% from the field and 87.5% from three-point range on the way to an 89-81 win over the Lady Lions Thursday night at Williams Arena. Junior Maggie Lucas accounted for a team-best 23 points to go along with three assists and two steals, while Alex Bentley added 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Senior Nikki Greene came on strong in the second half scoring all 15 of her points in the second half and pulling in eight of her nine boards after the break.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA: The Cornhuskers are 22-6 overall and 12-3 in Big Ten play. They are ranked 20th in this week's Associated Press poll and 25th in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. Jordan Hooper paces the Huskers in scoring (18.1) and rebounding (8.7). She also has 32 steals. Senior Lindsey Moore chips in 14.7 points, 5.6 assists and 1.9 steals per outing, while Emily Cady adds 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
LADY LIONS VS. NEBRASKA: The Lady Lions are 4-1 all-time against the Cornhuskers, including a 1-0 mark in Lincoln. Penn State has won the last two meetings between the teams, including an 80-53 meeting earlier this season and a 93-73 victory in Lincoln on Jan. 15, 2012.
LAST TIME VS. NEBRASKA: The Lady Lions earned an 80-58 win over RV/#23 Nebraska on Jan. 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Junior guard Maggie Lucas became the 13th Lady Lion to hit the 1,500-point plateau, as she chipped in 19 tallies to go along with three steals, two rebounds and two assists. Senior Alex Bentley also added 19 points, while seniors Mia Nickson and Nikki Greene grabbed 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
STUDEVENT HONORED FOR SERVICE: Senior Gizelle Studevent has been selected to the inaugural Allstate WBCA Good Works Team. The team is composed of 10 women's basketball student-athletes who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and civic involvement. The 10-member team features five student-athletes from Division I and five student-athletes from Division II, III and the NAIA. After being bullied in high school, Studevent used an independent study project at Penn State to create "Penn State Athletes Take Action." The program works with the Centre County Women's Resource Center (CCWRC) to develop a program to take into local middle schools to talk with students about bullying and bully prevention on a monthly basis. Throughout her development of the program, Studevent has enlisted the help of several other student-athletes, including athletes from women's basketball, track & field, soccer, cheerleading, football and dance team, to go to weekly training sessions at the CCWRC and then on to present at local middle schools.
WIN STREAK SNAPPED: The Lady Lions had their five-game winning streak snapped as they ran into a hot-shooting Minnesota team on the way to an 89-81 loss on Thursday. The Golden Gophers shot a sizzling 66.7% from the field, which breaks the Penn State opponent record for field goal percentage in a game. The previous mark was 64.3%, set by Tennessee on Jan. 30, 1983. The 89 points allowed are the most for the Lions, their previous high was 74 against Georgetown.
LUCAS CONTINUES TO ETCH NAMES INTO RECORD BOOKS: With 23 points against Minnesota on Feb. 28, Maggie Lucas passes Angie Potthoff for seventh place in program history with 1,735 points. Additionally, Lucas has 541 points on the season, passing Kelly Mazzante's total of 529 from 2000-01 for 19th place in the Lady Lion record books. Lucas also moved into sole With two three-pointers against Minnesota on Feb. 28, Maggie Lucas sits alone in third place in Big Ten history in three-pointers made with 272 for her career
BENTLEY REACHES ANOTHER STEALS MILESTONE: With four steals at Minnesota on Feb. 28, Alex Bentley moved second place on Penn State's career thefts chart with 317 steals. Her effort against the Gophers brought her past Helen Darling for the second spot and she now trails Suzie McConnell for the top spot. In addition, Bentley became just the eighth player in school history to nab 100 steals in a season. With 101 thefts on the year, Bentley passed Helen Darling (100; 1999-00) for seventh on the program's single-season list.
The Lady Lions will travel to Hoffman Estates for the 2013 Big Ten Tournament. Penn State has secured a first-round bye and will begin competing on March 8 in the quarterfinals. The semifinal is March 9 and championship game is March 10. The Lady Lions are 24-16 all-time in the BTT, claiming titles in the first two tourneys (1995, 1996).
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.