Jan. 31, 2014
Penn State Game Notes | Northwestern Game Notes | BTDN Stream ($) | Listen ($) |
Tickets! | Promotions | Lucas espnW Blog | LadyLions.com | Nominate for Hometown Hero
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The #13/12 Penn State Lady Lions (16-4, 7-1 Big Ten) will head to the Windy City for a Super Bowl Sunday showdown with Northwestern (14-7, 4-4) at 2 p.m. (ET). The game will be available via live stream on the Big Ten's Digital Network for a fee.
LIVE STREAM: The game will be available via live stream on the Big Ten's Digital Network for a fee.
RADIO: The game is on the Penn State Sports Network and WRSC 1390 locally with Jerry Fisher and Julia Trogele calling the action. The audio feed is available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: In the kind of game you would expect from a pair of ranked teams, the #13/12 Lady Lions landed four players in double figures and held off a late run as they posted a 75-72 over #16/19 Purdue Thursday. Maggie Lucas scored 23 points on the night to move into second place on Penn State's career scoring list and ninth place in Big Ten history (2,259 points). Lucas turned in a complete performance to go along with her 23 points, she had five rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. Ariel Edwards also turned in a 20-point performance with 21 tallies with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Fellow senior Talia East turned in her third double-double of Big Ten play with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 12 rebounds. Dara Taylor also reached double figures with 13 tallies to compliment six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats are 14-7 on the season and 4-4 in Big Ten play with wins in three of their last four contests. Freshman Nia Coffey leads Northwestern in both scoring (15.4) and rebounding (8.0) and is second in blocks (2.1) and steals (1.9). Maggie Lyon adds 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Christen Inman accounts for 12.8 tallies and 3.7 boards per contest. Lauren Douglas is the fourth Wildcat averaging double figures at an 11.3 clip. Northwestern is 11-2 in games played in Welsh-Ryan Arena with the losses coming to nationally-ranked N.C. State and Illinois.
ALL-TIME VERSUS THE WILDCATS: The Lady Lions are 31-7 all-time against Northwestern, including wins in the last six meetings. PSU is 12-5 all-time in games played in Evanston with three consecutive wins at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Last season, Penn State won the only meeting between the squads with a 73-69 comeback win at the BJC.
LAST TIME VERSUS NU: The Lady Lions used a late rally to fend off the Northwestern Wildcats by a score of 73-69 on Jan. 3, 2013 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Wildcats held a six-point advantage with 4:47 remaining in the contest, but Penn State closed the game on 17-9 run to seal the comeback victory. Maggie Lucas led the way for the Lady Lions, netting 24 points. The Narberth native also tallied four assists, two blocks and five steals. The Lady Lions accumulated 19 total steals with a career-high seven steals coming from Dara Taylor. Mia Nickson recorded her 13th career double-double in the win, tallying season highs of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
SUPER BOWL SUNDAY: The Lady Lions have found success on Super Bowl Sunday in their program history, going 15-7 all-time on Super Sunday. Penn State has won its last two games on Super Bowl Sunday, including a 68-65 win at Minnesota on Feb. 5, 2012. The only other time that the Lady Lions and Wildcats met on Super Bowl Sunday was Feb. 2, 2004 in University Park with Penn State picking up the 64-51 win.
DARA DISHES: Senior guard Dara Taylor surpassed the 200-assist milestone for her Penn State career with eight helpers at Purdue on Jan. 30. Taylor is the 30th player in school history to accomplish the feat, but did so in just two years. With 204 helpers in her Penn State career, Taylor is tied for 26th in program history with Tyra Grant (204; 2006-10). Taylor needs 12 helpers to tie Vanessa Paynter (216; 1983-87) for 25th and 13 assists to tie Jess Brungo (217; 2000-04) for 24th spot. For her collegiate career, Taylor has 446 helpers.
EAST IS A BEAST: Senior center Talia East posted her third double-double of Big Ten Conference play with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win at Purdue on Jan. 30. She was efficient, connecting on a career-best six field goals on 10 attempts. East also played a personal-best 35 minutes against the Boilers.
LUCAS RISES ON BIG TEN SCORING LIST: Maggie Lucas became the 18th player in Big Ten history to reach 2,000 points at Georgetown on Dec. 8. With 23 tallies at Purdue on Jan. 30, Lucas moved into ninth place on the Big Ten's career scoring list with 2,259 points. Lucas passed Purdue's Shereka Wright (2,251; 2001-04) for the ninth spot in conference history. Lucas needs 26 points to move into a eighth place tie with Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen (2,285; 2001-04).
MAGGIE MOVES UP PSU CAREER SCORING LIST: Senior guard Maggie Lucas moved into second place on Penn State's all-time scoring chart, which is where she will finish her career, with her 23-point night at Purdue on Jan. 30. With 2,259 points, Lucas moved past Susan Robinson (2,253; 1989-92) for second place. Kelly Mazzante holds the Penn State and Big Ten career scoring records with an astounding 2,919.
Penn State is back in the BJC to host Iowa on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. The game is a Dollar Dog Night and the Hat Drive. Fans that donate a new hat to benefit THON receive a $5 ticket. The Lady Lions hit the road again to take on Ohio State on Sunday, a game that will air on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
Lady Lion Basketball single-game tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Single-game 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.
For the 15th time, Penn State will host the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament First and Second Rounds on March 23 and 25, 2014. All-session tickets are $30 for adults and $17 for youth and students. There is also an all-session group rate for groups of 20 or more of any age at $20 per package. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or visiting the Penn State athletics ticket office between the hours of 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The 2014 Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 as the Lady Lions take on Wisconsin in the Bryce Jordan Center at 1 p.m. Last year, the Lady Lions donated a record $260,000 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.