May 25, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; -- Over the first nine editions of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Penn State women's basketball program met a different opponent each year, however, the 10th annual event will feature a rematch with Boston College on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
In 2010, the Lady Lions and Eagles met in the Conte Forum on Thursday, Dec. 2 and played the second highest scoring game in Penn State history. The two teams combined for 217 points, with Boston College earning a 113-104 overtime win.
This will be just the third meeting all-time between the two northeast programs, with the series tied at one game apiece. The Eagles won the aforementioned 2010 scuffle, while the Lady Lions claimed an 85-43 victory inside Rec Hall on Dec. 29, 1984.
Penn State is 2-7 in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, including a victory over Duke in the inaugural Challenge and a record-setting 103-84 win over nationally-ranked North Carolina in 2011. Game times, as well as television coverage, will be announced at a later date.
This is the first piece of the Lady Lions' 2016-17 schedule to be released, with the remainder of the non-conference and Big Ten schedules to be announced at a later date.
The Lady Lions will need to replace just two student-athletes from last season's squad, as Brianna Banks and Candice Agee each moved on following their senior seasons. A pair of newcomers, Siyeh Frazier and Jaida Travascio-Green, along with mid-year transfer De'Janae Boykin will all suit up for the Blue and White in 2016-17.
Returning are Second Team All-Big Ten performer Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) and honorable mention all-conference guard Lindsey Spann (Laurel, Md.), along with Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.).
Page led the team in scoring and assists, becoming the first Lady Lion player in program history to score 450 points and hand out 100 assists as a freshman. She also led the team in minutes played and free throws made. Spann was the top three-point shooter on the team, with her 65 shots made from distance ranking No 11 in single season history.
Whitted had a career year in 2015-16, notched her first seven career double-doubles, while averaging 9.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during her junior campaign. Her 8.3 rebounds ranked No. 7 in the Big Ten and her 256 boards more than doubled her career total entering the season and ranks No. 21 on Penn State's single season charts. Mitchell continued her steady play with 9.5 points and 5.2 rebounds on the season -- including 15 double figure scoring games.
Three guards missed considerable time on the court due to injury in 2015-16. Sierra Moore (Hanover, Pa.) sat out the entire 2015-16 campaign due to injury after earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2014-15. Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) saw her junior season cut short due to injury in December. The junior was averaging 2.0 steals per game off the bench for the Blue and White. Freshman Amari Carter (Washington, D.C.) had nailed her first career three-pointer and grabbed one rebound before suffering a season-ending injury at the end of the first quarter of her first career game.
For the second straight season, the ACC and Big Ten closed out the two-day event in a 7-7 tie. Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin recording wins for the Big Ten. The winners for the ACC were: Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
The Big Ten and ACC Conference offices collaborate to determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2016 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences' Challenge agreement for men's basketball.
The Big Ten and the ACC have long been among the most competitive conferences on the women's basketball scene. The Big Ten sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2016, as Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue all advanced to the national tournament. In addition, six conference squads were selected to the WNIT.
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2016 CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 30
Penn State at Boston College
Wake Forest at Illinois
Notre Dame at Iowa
Florida State at Minnesota
Purdue at Pittsburgh
Michigan State at Syracuse
Thursday, December 1
Michigan at Georgia Tech
Maryland at Louisville
Indiana at North Carolina State
Virginia at Northwestern
Miami (Fla.) at Ohio State
Duke at Rutgers
Nebraska at Virginia Tech
North Carolina at Wisconsin
--PENN STATE--