Dec. 7, 2015
| GAME NINE | |
| Tuesday, December 8 - 7 p.m. ET | |
| Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa.. | |
| Game Day Information: | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
TV: Big Ten Network (Live) -->BTN2go Video ($)Live Audio (Free) |Women's Basketball BlogFollow Us: @PennStateWBB | Facebook | InstagramGame Notes: Penn State | Youngstown State Statistics: Penn State | Youngstown State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's basketball program looks to get back on track on Tuesday night when they welcome Youngstown State to the Bryce Jordan Center. The game between the Lady Lions (3-5) and Penguins (6-0) will serve as the Lady Lions' annual Toys For Tots game. Fans that bring a new unwrapped toy will receive admission for just $5.
Toys For Tots Challenge
Tuesday's matchup with Youngstown State will kick off the Penn State-Maryland Toys For Tots Challenge. The men's and women's programs from both Penn State and Maryland will see which school's fan base can donate the most new & unwrapped toys at their respective Toys for Tots games. The final tally of new, unwrapped toys will be announced following each school's respective games. Toys must be dropped off at the Toys for Tots games to count towards the total.
Getting Social
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Series Notes
// Tuesday marks the third meeting between Penn State and Youngstown State, with the Lady Lions owning a 2-0 edge in the series.
// Each of the previous two meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament.
// Penn State won the initial meeting on March 16, 1996, 94-71, before taking an 83-63 decision on March 17, 2000.
// Both previous meetings have come in Happy Valley and both took place in the Bryce Jordan Center.
At A Glance
// Freshman Teniya Page reached the 10-point mark for the eighth straight game to start her career. The rookie poured in 15 points at USF to go along with five rebounds.
// Junior Peyton Whitted led the Lady Lions in rebounding for the sixth time this sesaon at USF. She also reached double figures in the scoring column for the fifth time this season.
// Sophomore Lindsey Spann has scored 37 points in her last two games. She netted 20 points vs. Virginia Tech and added 17 points at USF.
// Penn State saw five players reach double-digits in the scoring column at USF, marking the first time since Jan. 25, 2015 vs. Northwestern that five different players scored 10-plus points in the same game.
// Reaching double digits in six of the last seven games, junior Kaliyah Mitchell led Penn State with 18 points at USF.
// Penn State hits the road for its final non-conference road test at St. Bonaventure. The Lady Lions and Bonnies will take to the court at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12.
Scouting Youngstown State
// The Penguins are looking to improve to 7-0 for the second straight season and for just the second time since becoming at Division I program in 1981-82. Youngstown State has won its first six games for the fourth time in its 41-year history.
// This will be the second time in a week that YSU ventures three-plus hours east on Route 80. The Penguins won 55-47 at Bucknell on Wednesday in a game in which they trailed by nine in the second half.
// Defense has been YSU's strength so far this season. It has held five of its first six opponents under 55 points.
// Leading scorer Sarah Cash is averaging 14.3 points per game, and has scored at least eight points in every contest. Cash also leads the team with 7.2 rebounds per game.
// Nikki Arbanas has scored between nine and 15 points each game and enters averaging 11.5 points per game.
// Youngstown State returns three starters and a total of eight letterwinners from last season's team that won 21 games and earned an at large berth to play in the Women's NIT.
Last Time Out - at USF (Dec. 6, 2015)
// Five players score in double-figures at USF, marking the first time since Jan. 25, 2015 vs. Northwestern that five Lady Lions reached the 10-point mark in the same game.
// Kaliyah Mitchell reached double-digits in the scoring column for the sixth time in the last seven games, ending the game with 18 points.
// Teniya Page netted 15 points to push her streak to eight straight games in double-digits to start her career.
// Brianna Banks had a career-high-tying six assists, equaling her total from a game vs. Wake Forest on Nov. 22, 2012 while she was a player at Connecticut.
// Peyton Whitted had a team-high seven rebounds, marking the sixth time in eight games she has led the team in rebounds.
// Candice Agee blocked two shots, moving her into ninth place on the career blocked shots charts at Penn State with 103 blocked shots.
// Keke Sevillian extended her streak to nine straight games with a steal with two thefts.
Getting Jiggy Whitted
// Peyton Whitted is having a great start to her junior season. She has already set career-highs for points (22), rebounds (16), assists (7), field goals made (8) and free throws made (6).
// Whitted entered today ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 48 nationally with 9.6 rebounds per game.
// Her three double-doubles ranked No. 3 in the conference and No. 41 nationally.
// She was the first player since Nikki Greene (2013) to post four straight games with at least 10 rebounds.
// Whitted has posted her first three career double-doubles in 2015-16, accomplishing the feat vs. Holy Cross (22p, 11r), at Tennessee (17p, 16r) and vs. Central Connecticut State (15p, 15r).
// Her effort against Fordham was also impressive, with nine points, 11 rebounds and a career-best seven assists.
// Whitted was named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 16.0 points and 15.5 rebounds for the week of Nov. 16-22.
// Entering the season, Whitted had just one double-digit rebound game. She has four this season.
On The Horizon
On the Horizon
// This will mark Penn State's eighth meeting with a team currently in the Horizon League. The Lady Lions are 7-1 in the previous meetings.
// The Lady Lions have met Cleveland State (1-0), Detroit (2-0), Green Bay (0-1), Oakland (2-0) and Youngstown State (2-0).
Spann Heating Up
// After leading the team in scoring last season as a redshirt-freshman, Lindsey Spann didn't get off to a strong start to her sophomore campaign, but has started to heat up the last six games.
// Spann notched her first 20-point effort of the season vs. Virginia Tech on Dec. 3, pouring in 20 points.
// Against the Hokies, she tied a career-best with six made free throws (6-of-6) and made 6-of-12 field goals.
// The, at USF, Spann netted 17 points to rank second on the team in scoring (Mitchell, 18).
Agee Sending It Back
// Senior Candice Agee blocked three shots vs. Cal State Northridge to become just the 10th Lady Lion to record 100 career rejections.
// She enters the game against Youngstown State with 103 blocks for her career.
// She trails Tori Waldner (120, 2012-15) for the No. 8 spot on the career charts.
// Agee has 29 career games with two-plus blocks.
// The Victorville, Calif., native enjoyed a 13-game streak with at least on blocked shot in 2014-15. She rejected shots in each game from Jan. 6 - Feb. 26, 2015.
// Agee recorded a career-high five blocks in a win over Rider on Dec. 14, 2014.
// Agee is looking to become just the 10th player in Penn State history to register 1.0 blocks per game for a career. She is currently at 1.08 bpg.
Balanced in the Scoring Column
// Senior Candice Agee blocked three shots vs. Cal State Northridge to become just the 10th Lady Lion to record 100 career rejections.
// She enters the game against Youngstown State with 103 blocks for her career.
// She trails Tori Waldner (120, 2012-15) for the No. 8 spot on the career charts.
// Agee has 29 career games with two-plus blocks.
// The Victorville, Calif., native enjoyed a 13-game streak with at least on blocked shot in 2014-15. She rejected shots in each game from Jan. 6 - Feb. 26, 2015.
// Agee recorded a career-high five blocks in a win over Rider on Dec. 14, 2014.
// Agee is looking to become just the 10th player in Penn State history to register 1.0 blocks per game for a career. She is currently at 1.08 bpg.
On the Right Page
// True freshman Teniya Page has been impressive as the Lady Lion point guard in her first seven career games.
// The Chicago, Ill., native poured in a career-high 26 points to go along with personal best marks of eight rebounds and four steals against Cal State Northridge on Nov. 27.
// Page opened her career with seven straight 10-plus point, four-plus assist efforts.
// Her eight straight games of 10-plus points to open her career is a feat not accomplished by Penn State's top two career scoring leaders, Kelly Mazzante and Maggie Lucas.
// She scored 15 points with seven assists vs. Holy Cross, handed out six helpers with 11 points vs. Fordham to open her career.
// Against Fordham, Page did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes of action.
Injury Bug Strikes
// Senior guard Brianna Banks missed most a four-game stretch due to a lower leg injury from Nov. 18 - Nov. 28. She came out of the Tennessee game with the injury, missed all of the next two contests and played sparingly in the BYU game.
// Junior guard Sierra Moore and freshman guard Amari Carter will both miss the 2015-16 season due to injuries (knee).
// Moore averaged 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists, and added 15 blocked shots and 35 steals in 30 games last season.
// Carter also missed her senior year of high school due to a knee injury.
Mitchell's Double Digit Streak
// After not reaching the scoring column in the season opener vs. Holy Cross, junior Kaliyah Mitchell secured double figures in scoring in the next five games.
// Mitchell led the team in scoring at USF with 18 points, just two points shy of her career-best effort.
// Mitchell had a string of four straight games with at least four made field goals from 11/15-11/27.
// She has also cashed in at the free throw line, making 24-of-26 shots from the charity stripe, including a 6-of-6 effort vs. BYU on Nov. 28.
Working Overtime
// Penn State opened the season with an 86-82 overtime victory vs. Holy Cross and are now 21-18 all-time in overtime.
// The season opening overtime contest marked just the third time PSU opened a season with extra time.
// The Lady Lions are 2-1 all-time in season opening overtime games. The also won at Dayton, Nov. 12, 2010, but lost, 93-84, to Connecticut on Nov. 25, 1989 in a game played at Iowa.
// The overtime victory marked the first overtime victory for PSU since the Nov. 18, 2010 at Oakland (96-89). Penn State had lost three straight overtime contests.
Washington Reaches 150
// Head coach Coquese Washington won her 150th career game on Sunday, Nov. 15 vs. Fordham, 75-59.
// Washington has started each of her nine seasons at the helm of the Lady Lions with a victory.
// In eight of the nine seasons, Penn State has began the year with at least two victories.
// Washington is unblemished in home openers, as well, winning all nine of her initial games in front of the home crowd.
Nice Opener for Newcomers
// All five Penn State newcomers saw time on the floor vs. Holy Cross in the season opener.
// Three newcomers; senior Brianna Banks, and freshmen Teniya Page and Ashanti Thomas all started their first games in the blue and white.
// Banks ranked second on the team in scoring with 20 points, while Page also reached double figures with 15 points.
// Page handed out seven assists, grabbed two rebounds and had one steal in the contest.
// Thomas chipped in seven points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in her first collegiate game.
// Freshmen Amari Carter and Jaylen Williams each scored two points in the contest.
2016 Pink Zone at Penn State
// The 10th Annual Pink Zone at Penn State will be held Sunday, January 17 in the Bryce Jordan Center when the Lady Lions take on Michigan. The game time will be 2 p.m. ET.
// Last year, the Lady Lions donated $999,999 after setting a record with $310,000 raised for breast cancer causes in 2013-14.
// All totaled, the Lady Lions have donated more than $1.375 million for breast cancer research and awareness in the first nine years.
// Money raised this year will be disbursed to six different beneficiaries: Mount Nittany Medical Center, The Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, The Kay Yow Cancer Fund, PA Breast Cancer Coalition, JC Blair Memorial Hospital, and Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital.
// For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.pennsylvaniapinkzone.org.
Three McDonald's All-Americans
// The Lady Lions tout three McDonald's High School All-Americans on their roster this season in Candice Agee, Sierra Moore and Brianna Banks.
// Banks played in the 2011 contest, while Agee and Moore were participants in the 2012 game.
// Prior to Coquese Washington taking the reins, the Lady Lions only had one McDonald's High School All-American in program history.
Adding Two for 2016-17
// Head coach Coquese Washington and her coaching staff added a pair of top-25 guards during the early signing period in Siyeh Frazier and Jaida Travascio-Green.
// The 5-foot-11 Frazier averaged 18.5 points and nine rebounds per game as a junior at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Mich.
// She added nearly seven assists and six steals per game to earn AP All-State honors and Detroit Free Press Dream Team.
// An all-conference performer since her freshman year of high school, Travascio-Green garnered all-state honors after averaging 17 points, six rebounds, nearly four assists and two steals per game as a junior.
// A state qualifier and school-record holder in the high jump, Travascio-Green earned 2015 honorable mention all-state from the Chicago Tribune.
#WePlayOn
Penn State ended the WNBA season with four players on active rosters, including one All-Star and one WNBA Finals participant.
// Alex Bentley and Nikki Greene each suited up for the Connecticut Sun, Maggie Lucas played for the Indiana Fever and Tanisha Wright spent the season with the New York Liberty.
// Bentley ranked among the top-15 in the WNBA in steals (1.9) and scoring average (14.7), sitting third and 11th, respectively.
// Bentley was selected to the WNBA East All-Star roster and scored a team-best 23 points off the bench and handed out five assists.
// Lucas saw action in 30 games with a career-best 5.7 points per game average. She helped the Fever to an Eastern Conference championship and push the Minnesota Lynx to five games in the WNBA Finals.
// Wright ended her 11th season in the league with 7.4 points, 3.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
// Her assist total ranked ninth in the WNBA in 2015 and she moved into No. 14 in league history with 1,127 helpers in 364 career games.
// Greene played in 12 games as a late-season signing for the Sun, averaging 1.2 points and 2.0 rebounds.